Against All Odds
by staywithmeBL
Summary: High school is never peaches and cream, but can Troy and Gabby surpass even greater troubles? NEW ENDING!
1. Be Without You

**_Against All Odds  
_**_Be Without You_

Gabriella looked around her, red and white confetti falling all around, searching for Troy. Looking over to the other side of the gym, she saw him chatting amongst a few other players from the team with a wide grin across his face.

Troy looked up and noticed Gabriella heading his way, and turned back to face his friends and team mates again. After excusing himself, he turned back towards her, and walked to meet her halfway.

Gabriella's heart fluttered as she and Troy's locked eyes, each of them at one end of the gym, and he gave her that famous Troy Bolton smile.

"Hey Troy." She smiled up at him as she neared him.

Troy said nothing, but instead placed his hands on her waist and spun her around in a full circle.

"Gabriella, this is the best day of my life." He whispered in her ear as he placed her back down on her feet.

"Yeah, it's been pretty amazing, huh?" She asked as her smile grew wider. "You were amazing, Troy."

"No, no. Don't give me all the credit. You were amazing Gabi." Gabriella's cheeks reddened as he smiled at her.

"_We_ were amazing." She said and Troy smiled at the correction.

"Heck yes you were." Chad said approaching them, wrapping one arm around Troy and the other around Gabriella.

"I have got to give you credit, man - I had no idea you could sing like _that_." Chad continued.

"Thanks, man." Troy said, glaring at Chad, trying to indicate to give him and Gabriella some "alone time."

Chad, on the other hand, was definitely picking up on Troy's hints but couldn't resist the opportunity to watch Troy squirm.

"So Troy, you taking Gabriella to the after party?" He smiled at Troy, and then looked at Gabriella, who turned her head and blushed.

"Like, on a date?" Troy choked out.

"Uh, yeah?"

Troy looked at Gabriella, hoping to obtain some sort of hint on what he should do. Sure, he liked Gabriella, he really, _really_ liked her. But had no idea how she felt about him. He didn't want to rush her into anything, or look like an idiot if she feel the same as he did.

Gabriella continued to look down, even though she could feel Troy's gaze on her. She was well aware her cheeks were an embarrassing shade of red, and didn't want to look up. Ever since Chad had mentioned going on a date, she got really nervous. Her hands were clammy, and her cheeks were hot, reassuring her that she was blushing. She liked Troy, a lot; she just wasn't sure if she was ready for this kind of step.

"Troy?" Chad interrupted the silence.

"Uh, nah man. I think we're going to go as friends. Well if that's okay with you Gabi? I guess I didn't ask you." He laughed nervously. "You could already be going with someone else."

Gabriella felt relieved, but was glad to know that Troy still wanted to go with her. A small part of her was slightly sad about not being more than friends. 'That can wait.' She told herself.

"No, Troy. I'd like to go with you." She smiled at him, which he returned.

"Whatever, dude. I'm going to go find my date like a real man." Chad said cockily and walked off, his hair bouncing with every step.

Troy laughed at his last comment.

"Don't worry, Troy. You're definitely more man than Chad." Gabriella giggled, and his gaze returned to meet hers, and laughed with her.

"Well, Miss Montez, should we head to this party?" He held out his arm, indicating for her to link hers with his.

"I'd love to." She linked her arm with his, and they walked out of the gym.

Troy's father had offered to drive them to the party, but since it wasn't far, they decided to walk. It was a beautiful night in Albuquerque; the moon hanging low and the stars shone bright. Gabriella was really in awe of how beautiful the night really was.

"There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach." She whispered looking up at the sky above them.

Troy looked over at her, and followed her gaze to the sky. He couldn't really remember a night where the stars had shown so brightly.

"It's really beautiful, huh?" he said.

"Yeah it really is. We never had nights like this in Detroit." Gabriella responded in slightly nostalgic voice.

Troy smiled at the sweet expression on her face. "Tell me about it."

"What? Detroit?" She asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you never talk about your old school. I guess I just want to know about it."

"Old school_s_." She smirked as she corrected him. "My mom's company moves her around a lot, so I've been to quite a few schools."

Troy suddenly realized that Gabriella could leave at any moment, and shot her a worried glance. Her eyes shone softly at him, realizing what he was thinking, and shook her head.

"Her company promised they wouldn't transfer her again until I graduated. So looks like you're stuck with me." She laughed.

"Thank God!" Troy exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief. "I don't know if I'd like East High without you."

"It sounded like you were just fine before I ever got here. I mean, I know you weren't exactly at the top of the totem pole, but it seems like you found your way around just fine." She teased, knowing very well that Troy was at the very top of the social ladder. She cringed just thinking of the countless girls that threw themselves at him each day.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be the same now that I've seen what it's like to have you there with me."

She smiled at his comment.

"So you going to tell me about it?"

"Uh," Gabriella was slightly puzzled before realizing he was referring to his earlier question. "Yeah! We were in Detroit the longest before East High. I was there for the first half of this year. I went to three schools my sophomore year, and three in my freshman year as well."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, I'm glad to be stationary for a while."

"What were your friends like? And your boyfriends?" Troy threw that last line for selfish reasons. He needed to know what he had to compete with.

"No boyfriends." She laughed. "Not really any friends either. I was always that 'freaky math girl.' No one really gave me a chance before you."

Troy found that hard to believe. How couldn't someone fall in love with Gabriella? She was perfect. "It's not like I really had a chance. It seems like fate is on our side."

"Gosh, it's so crazy isn't it?" Gabriella's voice was full of electricity. "I never expected to see you again, let alone live in the same city as you. I was so surpised to see you at school that first day."

"Me too." Troy said. "I actually thought I was dreaming for a moment when I saw you sitting in my homeroom class."

"Well, I hope it was a good dream."

"The best." He smiled at her and looked to his left. They had reached the house where the party was being held. It wasn't anyone either of them knew really well, just some girl from the cheerleading squad, but Troy wasn't really excited about going inside.

"You okay, Troy?" She asked, noticing that he had stopped walking.

"Yeah, good." In truth, Troy wished he could just keep walking with Gabriella. He knew it would be a lot more fun than this party. Maybe they could just blow it off and keep on walking.

"I'm so excited." She admitted quietly, quickly crushing his throughts of ditching the party.

"Why's that?" He laughed. She had said it so seriously, like it was a crime to say it.

"I know this sounds dumb, but I've never been to a party. Not this kind at least." She added. "I'm a little nervous."

"Don't worry, I'll be there the whole time. Even if I'm not right beside you, I'll be there. I promise."

She didn't respond, but smiled as she continued to stare at the house in front of her.

They walked up the drive, and stepped through the front door and were immediately greeted with lots of talking and really loud music. Not seeing anyone or anything familiar, they continued down a hallway to a room they assumed was the living room, and were met with even louder music. Through the dancing mob in front of them, Troy spotted Chad and Taylor across the room. He took Gabriella's hand, and pulled her through the mass of people.

Gabriella smiled at the fact the she and Troy were holding hands. She gripped his hand tight, hoping that she wouldn't have to let go anytime soon.

As they approached Chad and Taylor, Gabriella noticed Taylor had a goofy grin across her face.

"Gabi!" Taylor exclaimed as she pulled Gabriella into a hug, forcing her to let go of Troy's hand. Gabriella frowned at how cold her hand suddenly felt.

"Spill." Gabriella whispered, pulling Taylor aside.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Gabriella." Taylor said although the giddy smile was still evident on her face.

"I've never seen this smile. This definitely qualifies for 'goofy slap happy' smile. What's up?"

"He asked me to be his... girlfriend!" Taylor exclaimed, causing both of them to squeal loudly.

Troy and Chad looked over, puzzled.

"Women." Chad rolled his eyes.

Troy laughed at his comment. "So what's up with you two?"

"I, uh, sorta asked her to be my girlfriend."

Troy's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're not mad are you?" Chad's voice was timorous, and Troy barely recognized his friend.

"What? Of course not! Why would I be?"

"I don't know. It's just I was so hard on you about the Gabriella thing, I didn't want you to think I was being hypocritical."

Troy laughed at his friend's confession. "As long as you really like her, Chad. I don't want to see her get hurt."

"Yeah, I know Troy. And neither do I. This is so weird, but I'm so confused by her. But a good confused, you know? I've never felt like this before."

"Then I'm happy for you, Chad." Troy grinned at his friend.

"Thanks, man."

Taylor and Gabriella walked back over, Taylor leaning over to whisper something in Chad's ear.

"It's okay, Taylor. Troy knows too."

"Oh, okay." She smiled at Troy.

They spent the next half hour chatting with each other, laughing at the other members of the party. It was obvious that someone had brought alcohol with them, and people were acting crazy. Gabriella looked around and was really amazed at the sight she saw; she had never seen people acting in this manner, not to mention the collection of people in front of her. All kinds of groups were here. She saw jocks and drama kids. There were nerds and skaters. Everyone was here, mingling and partying together.

After a while, Chad and Taylor excused themselves, saying that they wanted to go "talk" even though Troy and Gabriella were both well aware they just wanted to go make out.

"So, what do you think so far?" Troy said to her.

"This is crazy! I've never seen people act like this." Gabriella answered. She wasn't sure about how to answer. Would she seem naive if she said she thought the whole thing was ridiculous?

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid huh?"

She smiled at him, glad he felt the same way. "Yeah."

troy scooted himself closer on the couch and leaned down so he was whispering in her ear. "Are you having fun? Cause we can leave if you'd like."

Gabriella's breathing picked up at the proximity of Troy's body to her own. "I'm okay. I'm just glad you're here with me."

Troy gave a sideways smile to the comment, sending Gabriella's breathing into a frenzy. She prayed he didn't notice or was able to hear the volume of her pounding heart.

"Troy!" They both looked up to see one of the basketball players calling for Troy.

"Troy, come here!"

"Uh, I'll be right back. You'll be okay for a few minutes right?" Troy said pulling away. He was angry he had to leave Gabriella alone.

"Yeah, Troy. I'm a big girl." She teased him.

"Ok, well, I'll be right back." He promised and pushed himself off of the couch.

She watched as Troy was engulfed by the crowd. "Troy! Troy! Troy!" She heard a chant rising. Slowly it grew to a loud roar and Gabriella covered her ears to shield the sound.

A few minutes later she felt an arm fall on her shoulder, looking over to see a very drunk cheerleader hanging on her.

"Are you and Troy Bolton dating?" The girl slurred.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "No, we're just really good friends."

"Okay, good. So what kind of girl is he into? I mean does he like blondes, or brunettes, or red heads? 'Cause I could totally buy hair dye. Does he like short girls or tall girls? What kind of clothing does he prefer?" Gabriella zoned out as the girl continued to ramble on. At first she felt a sting of jealousy as she could tell this girl wanted to be with Troy, but after listening to her drone on for ten minutes, she already knew Troy would never go out with this girl. A few moments later the girl picked up on Gabriella's lack of interest and left.

Gabriella searched the crowd for Troy, and saw him at the other end of the room. His blue eyes met with hers and smiled softly, making her heart flutter.

She sat there thinking, every so often looking at Troy and smiling at him. She was glad she had met him, and that he was in her life now. He had changed everything. Everything she believed in, and how she thought things should be. She watched with jealousy as some girl attempted flirting with Troy and laughed as Troy shrugged the girl off.

'Why am I getting so jealous?' She thought to herself. She realized that she really did like Troy, and maybe she did want to be more with him. The idea of being with Troy made her smiled. She frowned realizing it would never happen. _He said we're just friends._ She sighed, and jumped as she felt another arm go around her.

"Look!" She said ready to give the girl a piece of her mind. She turned realizing it wasn't the drunken cheerleader, but some guy.

"Hey there pretty lady." He said to her. Gabriella could smell the alcohol on his breath and tried to wiggle away from him. He kept a strong grip on her waist and Gabriella instantly became claustrophobic.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but I would really appreciate it if you let me go."

"Come on baby. I'm going to take good care of you." He leaned in to kiss her, but Gabriella pulled back. She winced at the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"STOP!" She yelled, hoping someone would hear. After realizing that no one had, resulting from the music being so loud and the chattering of people even louder. She immediately regretted staying in the corner where she and Troy had previously sat.

She tried to hit him, but he took hold of her other hand.

'Some please help me.' Gabriella's mind was pleading and begging for someone to come.

"I don't think she wants you to touch her, man." She heard a voice over top of her, quickly recognizing it as Troy's.

"Dude, go find your own chick." The guy slurred out angrily.

Troy placed a firm hand on the guy's shoulder. "I really don't think you want to do that."

The guy was pissed by this point, upset that someone would try and interrupt him of his _business_. "Oh, I think I really do!" He yelled, turning to finally face Troy. After realizing who was talking to him, he immediately backed down. He didn't want to mess with Troy, knowing very well that if he did the entire basketball team would be on top of him in a matter of seconds. There was no way he'd get out alive, let alone victorious.

"Sorry, man." He said quietly and sulked away.

Troy held out his hand to Gabriella, pulling her up into his arms. As frightened as she was, she had never felt safer than she was right now in his embrace.

"You want to get out of here?" He whispered into her ear, softly stroking her hair in hopes of comforting her.

She slightly nodded her head. He took her hand and led her out of the house.

"Gabi, I'm so sorry." Troy apologized as soon as they stepped out of the house.

"Why, are you sorry Troy? You just saved me."

Troy smiled slightly. Something had told him she was in trouble. It almost frightened him, thinking he heard Gabriella's voice begging for help.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"Alcohol is stupid." Gabriella blurted out.

Troy laughed at the outburst. "It can be, in situations like this. I knew this party would just be some stupid drunk fest. But you were so excited, I couldn't let you down. I'm sorry, I should have said something earlier."

"No, I guess I just needed to discover it for myself. I doubt that guy would have even done that had he been sober."

He nodded and looked her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, can we just go to the movies instead?" She smiled shyly at him.

"Of course."

They walked in silence. Troy held his arm around her shoulders, keeping a firm grip on her arm. He wanted to make sure that she knew she was safe.

"I'm so glad you came when you did." She finally said.

"Yeah, me too."

They continued to walk in comfortable silence, until the reached Gabriella's house.

"Thank for walking me home, Troy. And thanks for taking me to the party. I had fun there for a while." She tried to offer him a smile.

"Thanks for going with me. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner."

"Troy, please don't be sorry. Things could have been worse had it not been for you." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for that."

Troy stared at her, his cheek burning from it's contact with her lips. "No-no problem."

"Well, I'm going to go inside now Troy. Thank you again. And thanks for today. We actually made the musical!" Her voice was mixed with excitement and pride.

"I can't believe it, but we did." He smiled at her. "Now, go get some sleep. I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay Troy. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Gabriella stepped into her house and closed the door. As Troy walked away, he rubbed his cheek where she had kissed him. He smiled at the memory of her lips on his cheek.

He _knew_ he wanted to be with Gabriella.

* * *

**A/N: **hey guys, i changed this a little bit, but i thought it was too extreme for the first chapter. i just wanted to show troy protecting gabby. please review, and keep reading. i've got some great ideas for this story!

* * *


	2. Confessions

**Against All Odds  
**_Confessions_

"Okay students!" Ms. Darbus yelled across the room. "Silence! Please take your seats."

She waited as the remainder of the students not in their seats scrambled across the room to sit down.

"Okay, class. Today we're going to start something new, and it's going to last us the rest of the year. I'm going to put you into pairs, and for one period a week, you'll spend the entire period getting to know each other. Each time you will have an assignment to work on. Today's activity will be a simple questionnaire that will be worth fifty points. This will not be something to blow off."

She looked over at Sharpay, who had thrust her hand in the air, holding it up impatiently.

"Yes, Sharpay?"

"What is the point of this assignment, Ms. Darbus?"

"The school thinks that we need to do more activities that forces students to work with others they normally don't work with. It's to broaden your culture, or humanities, or something. I just do what they tell me. I would rather be teaching Shakespeare today."

The class livened up at the fact they wouldn't have to endure Darbus drain on and on about William Shakespeare.

"Ok, so now for you partners."

_'Please let it be Gabriella. Please let it be Gabriella.'_ Troy thought over and over.

_'Okay, God. If you partner me with Troy, I won't ask for anything else.'_ Gabriella thought. _'Or at least I'll try not to.'_

Chad sat behind Troy. _'Oh, yeah. If I get partnered with Taylor, we could definitely 'get to know each other.'"_

Sharpay looked disgusted. _'If I get stuck with some awful skater dude, I'll die. I will, I will DIE.'_

"Sharpay Evans and..." Sharpay winced as she waited. "Zeke Baylor."

She let out a sigh of relief, and turn around to face Zeke who was smiling at her.

_'At least it's better than a skater dude.'_ She thought.

"Chad Danforth and Melanie Smith."

Chad looked over at the girl hunched over a pad of paper. She was clad in all black - her clothes, her hair and nails. Even her lips were black. He could see her scribbling furiously on her sketch pad.

_'Great_.' He thought.

"Taylor McKessie and Mark Robbins."

Taylor was slightly sad she wouldn't be working with Chad, but at least she knew Mark. He had been on the Scholastic Decathlon Team just as long as she had been.

Ms. Darbus continued to rattle off pairs. Troy felt more and more relieved when he and Gabriella were some on the only ones left without a pair.

_'Maybe me and Gabi will get paired together.'_ Troy turned around and smiled at her in the back of the room, and she flashed a smile back his way. He loved it when she smiled.

"Gabriella Montez and Tim Nichols."

Both Gabriella and Troy sighed with disappointment. Gabriella looked over at Tim. She didn't even know that was his name, but she saw him look up when Ms. Darbus called out his name. She had noticed him in the class, but she swore she had never heard him speak. He sat in the far back corner, and spoke to no one. Once or twice she had seen him during lunch hours, when she was running late. He didn't sit in the cafeteria like everyone else, but out in the foyer by himself. She tried to figure out which 'group' he belonged to. It wasn't like it mattered, ever since the call backs, the entire school had begun to mingle. Then in hit her. He didn't have a group. He was a loner.

_'Well, maybe I can change that.'_ She thought. _'Everybody needs friends.'_

Ms. Darbus continued with the last pair, but Troy already knew who he'd be partnered with. Zane Brown. Zane scared everyone. He had long grungy hair that he always pulled back in a pony tail. He wore heavy death metal shirts, and chains that clad his legs and arms. He stood at about 6'4'' and he looked as if he were about thirty years old, which scared practically everyone in the school.

"Ok students, you have forty minutes. You may go anywhere in the school, but as long as you don't disturb anyone. There will be hall monitors, so don't get any ideas. Now shoo!"

The students groaned as they met up with their partners. Zeke and Sharpay had decided to go to the cafeteria. Chad had allowed Melanie to choose, and they ended up in the art studio. Taylor and Mark went to one of the empty lab rooms.

Gabriella walked up to Tim. "Hi Tim, I'm Gabriella." She held out her hand. He stood there, without responding for a minute or so until he looked up. He saw her friendly smile, and shook her hand.

"Tim." He said quietly.

"It's nice to meet you Tim. Where would you like to go?"

For once in his life, Tim was being treated like a normal human being. He knew both of his parents were ashamed of him. People at school thought he was some sort of freak, and never spoke to him. ANd for the first time here was someone who was genuine enough to treat him nicely.

"The foyer?" He said, again very quietly.

"Sounds great, Tim." They began to leave, but before they did, she turned to face Troy and gave him a smile that made his chest tighten.

_'Why couldn't I be with her?'_ He thought to himself.

"So, Zane. Where do you want to go?" He tried to sound confident. It was kind of hard with Zane cowering over him.

"I don't care Bolton. You choose."

"Okay, let's go the gym."

"Typical jock." Zane said loudly.

Troy ignored his comment, trying to make these forty minutes go as fastly as possible. As soon as all the groups had made it to their spots, they pulled out the questionnaire Ms. Darbus had handed on their way out.

* * *

Chad and Melanie each sat on a stool in the studios. She held a pen in her hand and Chad watched as she doodled scribbles across the page.

"Ok, Melanie. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?"

"I'd bring back my dad. He died when I was six." She said without hesitating. Chad immediately felt a sting in his heart as she said this.

"What about you? What would you change?" Melanie asked.

"Uh. I think I would have been a nicer person years ago. If Gabriella and Troy hadn't opened all of our eyes, I still might be an arrogant ass. I like this side of the fence better." He said tossing his basketball into the air.

"It's pretty crazy, huh?" She asked, her eyes never leaving the paper in front of her.

"What's that?"

"How much two people changed an entire school."

* * *

Zeke and Sharpay sat at a table in the cafeteria. Sharpay sat drectly on the table filing her nails, while Zeke sat on the bench with his hands resting on the table.

"Ok, Zeke. If you were on a deserted island, what three items would you bring with you?" She asked looking down at the paper on the table, not missing a beat with the file in her hands.

Zeke paused a few moments as he thought about the question. "Ok, I'd bring a knife, a lighter, and some rope. What about you?"

"A blow dryer, my facial mask, and my microphone."

"You do realize there would be no electricity on the island right?"

She stopped filing her nails and looked over at him. "So what's your point?"

* * *

Taylor sat with Mark in a room they both knew well – the chemistry lab.

"Ok Mark, if you could be any animal, what would you be?"

He snorted. "I'd be a liger."

Taylor looked at him funny.

"You know, a liger?"

She continued to stare.

"From Napoleon Dynamite?"

* * *

Tim and Gabriella sat on the floor of the foyer. She sat with her legs crossed Indian style, and he just sat there with his legs sprawled out.

"Who is your hero?" Gabriella asked him.

He sat there for a moment, pondering the question.

"Myself."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes as he said this. "Why's that?"

"Hey that's not one of the questions!" He joked with her. It felt funny to joke with someone, but he really liked Gabriella. She was a kind person, and he felt comfortable around her.

"I know, I just wanted to know." She responded genuinely and Tim smiled.

"No one's ever been there for me. Not my parents, and I've never had any friends. I had to learn how to be strong on my own."

Gabriella nodded her head as she wrote his answer on the paper. "Well, I guess that's pretty admirable."

"Well, thanks. What about you? Who's your hero?"

A smile came to Gabriella's lips. She knew who her hero was. Not just because he had saved her at the party, but because of everything he'd done for her. For singing with her at the call backs, for treating her like a normal person. Just for everything.

"Troy Bolton."

Tim didn't know why he felt so jealous. He had seen Troy and Gabriella walking around the school a lot, and he knew they were pretty close. He should have expected her to say Troy. Yet, he still felt jealous.

* * *

"Alright, let's at least try answer a few questions Zane. I really don't want to fail."

"I don't really care what you want Bolton."

Troy's head fell to the side in annoyance. "Please, Brown. You might not care, but I do, and the sooner we get this done the sooner we don't have to talk to each other. Okay?"

"Fine. Tell me about a person who has inspired you," He said flatly reading straight from the paper.

"Gabriella. You?"

"My dad. He inspired me to learn how to throw a mean right hook."

_'Oh, God.'_ Troy thought. _'This is going to be a long semester.'_

* * *

After school, Troy walked Gabriella home. Basketball was over for the time being and the musical didn't start practice for another week, so they took the opportunity to spend some time with each other.

"I'm serious Gabi. He said he was inspired by his dad to learn how to throw a right hook. If I die before this year's over, will you come to my funeral?"

She laughed. "Troy you are not going to die. You just have to find some way to open up to him. It was weird, but after a few minutes I couldn't get Tim to shut up." She laughed.

"Yeah, who would of thought he even knew how to speak?"

They joked the rest of the way home until they reached Gabriella's house.

"Well, thanks for walking me home Troy."

"Not a problem, Gabby. I'll see you tomorrow at school" He started to walk away.

"Hey Troy?"

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to stay for a while? I mean we could, like, watch TV or something. I don't know, only if you want to." She rambled on.

Troy laughed. "Yeah, Gabi. I'd love to."

"Okay, great!"

They stepped into her house, and Gabriella closed the door.


	3. Just What I Needed

**Against All Odds  
**_Just What I Needed_

"Okay. So we got Pizza Rolls, some Hot Pockets, or I could just order a pizza. What do you think?" Gabriella called out while rummaging though her refrigerator.

"You choose." Troy said sitting on a stool behind the island in the kitchen. "They all sound good to me."

"Let's go for the pizza. I've been in a pizza mood lately."

"I was hoping you'd say that." He smiled at her.

Gabriella pulled her head out of the fridge and stared at him. "Troy! You should have said something!"

"It's your house! Plus, I thought I'd be a gentlemen and let the lady choose."

Gabriella smirked. "Well, thank you. I'm going to go order this. Is pepperoni ok?"

"Sounds great."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Troy stood up and looked at all the pictures that hung on the walls. He stopped when he saw one that was vaguely familiar. It was a simple picture of Gabriella, she was standing in front of a fire place. But her smile was amazing. He then realized that it was the same outfit she had worn on New Year's Eve. In fact, he noticed she was standing in the lobby of the lodge they had both stayed at. He smiled as he remembered that night.

"Okay Troy! It should be here in like forty minutes." Gabriella's voice interrupted his thoughts and he pulled away from the photo.

"Good, cause I'm starved."

"Yeah, me too. So you want to go watch a movie?"

Troy suddenly got nervous. He realized that he was with Gabriella in her house, _alone._ What did this mean? Were they more than friends?

"Troy?" Gabriella asked forcing Troy out of his thoughts.

_'No, she definitely doesn't see me in that way.'_

"Yeah, that sounds good."

They walked into the living room, and both sat down on either end of the couch. Gabriella picked up the remote and flipped through the movie channels.

"See anything that looks good?" She asked, her eyes glued to the screen.

Troy hadn't really been paying attention to the guide on the TV, and was more content on watching the girl next to him.

"Yeah, some things." He said dreamily.

She looked over at him only to meet his gaze. She turned bright red, and looked down. There was an awkward silence, and Gabriella immediately eradicated it by speaking up.

"How about Elizabethtown? I've heard it's good. It might be a chick flick though." She laughed

Troy hadn't looked up, afraid of being caught staring again. "Yeah, that's fine."

They both leaned back into the couch as she clicked onto the channel.

* * *

An hour or so later, they were completely ignoring the movie. Bpth had scooted closer on the couch, and were engulfed in deep conversation, every now and then grabbing a slice of pizza.

Gabriella swallowed the mouthful of pizza she had been chewing and looked at the boy across from her. "So the other day you wanted to know about my life before I came to East High. Tell me about _your _life before we met."

Troy thought for a moment.

"It was empty."

"Empty?" She asked, being slightly startled by the response. There was no way Troy's life was any emptier than hers. He was popular, and was always surrounded by people.

"Yeah, looking back at it now, it's like I always knew something was missing, ya know? Now that you're here in my life – it's like my life is pretty much complete."

Gabriella heart beat harder at the admission. He always could say the right words to make her get butterflies in her stomach.

"Well, I know all about your friends, but tell me about your girlfriends in the past."

Troy laughed, and felt his cheeks grow warm.

"Oh, this has to be good!" Gabriella squealed at his reaction.

"Okay. I've dated a few people for like, a matter of days that really weren't important at all. There was Amy, this girl I dated in tenth grade for like a week. I dated some girl named Beth in eighth for a few weeks. And in seventh grade I dated Sharpay." He said the last part with a hushed voice.

"Did you just say Sharpay?" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Ok it was for like two weeks Gabby!" Troy's cheeks reddened even more.

Gabriella burst into fits of laughter. Troy glared at her outburst.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop." She tried to control her laughter. As embarrassed as Troy was, he loved seeing her laugh like this.

"There has to be more than that." Gabriella said as her laughter finally calmed down.

"No, that's pretty much it."

Gabriella rolled her head to the side and stared at him. "Come on, you're Troy Bolton!"

"And you're Gabriella Montez. What's your point?"

"Well, to use Taylor's words. You're 'just the hottie super-bum.'" She said the last part with a ditsy voice.

"Super-bum?"

"Yeah I didn't know what it meant either." They both laughed.

Troy looked over and saw Gabriella yawn.

"Hey, you tired?"

"Yeah, I haven't been sleeping well the last few days. I'm not really sure why."

"Well here." Troy scooted over and put a pillow on his lap. "Lay down."

"Troy, I am not going to sleep with you here. It's rude."

"Gabi, I don't care. I'll watch TV. Just lay down." He practically ordered her. She smiled at him and laid down on the pillow on his lap.

Troy looked down as Gabriella closed her eyes. He thought it might be weird to be here while she slept, but looking down at her, falling asleep, he felt more comfortable than he had been in a long time. He felt her body twitching as she fell through the layers of sleep.

"Hey Troy." She said warily.

"Yeah?"

"Will you sing to me?"

Troy looked away for a moment slightly embarassed. "Uh, okay."

He thought for a moment trying to decide on a song. After he had decided, he cleared his throat and began to sing softly.

_I worry, I weigh three times my body  
__I worry, I throw my fear around  
__But this morning, there's a calm I can't explain  
__The rock candy's melted, only diamonds now remain_

_Ooh, ooh_

_By the time I recognize this moment  
__This moment will be gone  
__But I will bend the light, pretend that it somehow lingered on  
__Well all I got's _

_Ooh, ooh_

_And I will wait to find  
__If this will last forever  
__And I will wait to find  
__If this will last forever  
__And I will pay no mind  
__When I won't and it won't cause it can't  
__It just can't  
__It's not supposed to_

_Is there a second in time that I looked around  
__Did I sail through or drop my anchor down  
__Is anything enough to kiss the ground  
__And say I'm here now and she's here now_

_Ooh _

_So much wasted in the afternoon  
So much sacred in the month of June  
How bout you?  
And I will wait to find  
If this will last forever  
And I will wait to find  
That it won't and it won't it won't  
And I will pay no mind  
Worried 'bout no rainy weather  
And I will waste no time  
Remaining in our life together_

As Troy finished the song, he looked down at Gabriella. She was completely asleep now. He turned on the TV, but after several minutes, he was also fast asleep.

* * *

Troy was awoken by quick movements. He looked down and saw that Gabriella had begun to wake up. After tossing and turning several times, she sat up. She looked at him and smiled.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Uh, I'm not really sure." He admitted, and Gabriella showed a look of confusion. "I fell asleep too."

"You've both been out for almost two hours." They heard a voice behind them. They turned around and saw Gabriella's mother, Isabella, standing in the doorway. "Or at least since I've been home. You both looked too cute, so I didn't want to wake you."

Gabriella smiled at Troy, and then at her mom. "What time is it Mom?"

"Almost 6:30."

"Oh wow!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Troy?" Isabella asked him.

"Uh-" He looked at Gabriella, who was looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Sure. Let me just call my parents and let them know."

"Okay. Gabi? Would you like to help me set the table?" Gabriella nodded and made her way into the kitchen as she got out the plates and silverware. Troy came back into the kitchen.

"They said it's okay." He told both Gabriella and her mother.

"Well, I'm glad you'll be joining us." Isabella said.

Troy walked over to Gabriella. "Here, let me help you." He said taking the plates into his hands. They both took the plates and silverware into the dining room. Troy set three plates down, and three bowls. Gabriella followed him with the silverware and cups.

"I'm so glad you're staying." She said.

Troy genuined smiled. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

Throughout dinner, Troy couldn't help but think of how different this was from dinners at home. Sure, his family had sit-down dinners, but never ones that didn't consist of talk about basketball and scholarships. He liked how comfortable this felt.

"So Troy, tell me about your family." Isabella asked him.

"Well, my mom's not really around a lot. Her business has her on the road a lot, so I don't see much of her." Troy admitted.

"And what about your father?"

"Well, let's just say he really likes basketball, and me playing it." He said flatly. Isabella picked up immediately on what he was trying to tell her.

"Do you have any siblings?" She asked, not wanting to linger on the subject.

"Nope. It's just me. It gets kind of lonely around the house sometimes, and it makes me wish that maybe I had had a brother or sister. Chad's got like four siblings, and he complains all the time. I guess he really doesn't realize the flip side of it."

"Chad?" Isabella asked.

"Oh that's one of our friends from school, Mom. He's on the basketball team as well." Gabriella explained to her mother. "I agree with you though, Troy. It can get pretty lonely around here. I always wanted a little sister or brother."

Isabella laughed. "When she was little, she saw one of those commercials to donate money to help the children. She thought it meant you could buy one. She asked me for weeks if I would buy her a little sister."

Troy laughed as Gabriella blushed. "Aww, Gabi. That's really cute."

She looked up and smirked at him. "Oh don't you worry. I'll be sure to have dinner at your house so I can hear all the embarrassing stories about you." She warned.

They finished dinner, and all three stood up to clean the table. Proceeding into the kitchen, Gabriella washed the dishes as Troy dried them for her.

"What was that song you sang to me earlier?" She asked him.

"It's called Clarity by John Mayer."

"Wow. Troy Bolton listens to John Mayer?"

"Okay, secret obsession." He said holding up his arms as if he were making a serious confession.

She laughed. "That's okay, Troy. I won't tell anyone. I like a lot of his stuff too."

"Yeah, I really like that song." Troy said. "I relate to it a lot."

"How so?"

"'I don't know. It just seems to me that there is so much more to life than worrying about the smaller details. Everything works itself out in some way or form."

Gabriella nodded her head and stared at him with admiration. "It really was a beautiful song."

"Well, thanks. But you can't give me any credit." Troy lauhged.

Troy noticed they had finished the dishes and looked down at Gabriella who was gazing out the window.

"What's going on up in your head, Gabi?"

"It's such a beautiful night. I'm still taken back at how beautiful the nights are here. I mean geez, it's January! It shouldn't be this nice outside." She laughed.

"How bout we take a walk?" He suggested.

"That sounds great."

Gabriella dried her hands off, and Troy followed as she went and told her mother they were going out, promising she wouldn't be out too late. Gabriella gabbed a jacket, and led Troy outside.

"Hey Gabi?" Troy said softly as they strolled down the sidewalk.

"Yeah?"

"Look, I know this may be a rough spot, and you don't have to talk about if you don't want to, but uh, what happened to your dad?"

Gabriella looked off into the distance. Troy could see tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, never mind. I'm sorry." He said quickly, wanting to avoid her being in any pain.

"No." She said quietly. "It's about time I talked about it. Me and Mom have been avoiding it for years."

Troy put his arm around her and pulled her close, as if to give her the strength she needed to get through this. Gabriella turned so that her body was facing his, and his arms wrapped themselves around her back.

"He was killed by a drunk driver when I was seven years old. They told us he died instantly."

"I'm so sorry, Gabby." He said as he kissed the top of her head. The tears had really begun to fall freely now from her eyes.

"Alcohol makes people stupid." She muttered, making Troy remember the night of the party.

"Do you want me to take you home now Gabby?" He asked her quietly.

"No. I like being here with you." She dug her head into his chest, and sat there for several minutes crying softly. Troy kept his arms around her, rubbing her back every so often, hoping to make her feel better. Eventually, she spoke up.

"Thank you, Troy."

"For what?"

"For being here with me."

"Gabriella, you never have to thank me for that." He said sweetly, making her smile.

"There's that famous Gabriella Montez smile." He said causing her to laugh.

"Let's take you home, Gabby. It's getting late. If I want your mom to allow me to come over again, I better get you home."

* * *

They arrived at Gabriella's house about twenty minutes later.

"Thanks again, Troy." She said as they stood on her front porch.

"I told you, you don't have to thank me. But you _are_ welcome." He smiled at her. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Gabriella smiled. "Yep, first thing tomorrow at school."

"Okay. Bye." He pulled her into a hug, and lingered there as he took in the moment, smelling her hair, and remembering how it felt for her to be in his arms.

"Bye Troy." She smiled as she pulled away, and turned the knob on her door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gabriella." He turned and walked away. Gabriella stepped into her house, finding her mother sitting on the couch.

"Hi Mom." She said happily.

"Welcome back." She noticed her daughter's smile. "Troy's a really nice boy Gabriella."

"Mom, we're just friends." Gabriella blurted out, ducking her face from the embarassment.

Her mother gave her a look, and smiled. "I didn't say you were more. I just said he's nice."

Gabriella's cheeks brightened as she realized her mother had trapped her. "Well, I'm going to bed Mom. I'll see you in the morning. I love you, goodnight."

"Night Gabriella. See you in the morning." She could hear her daughter's footsteps on the stairs, and laughed to herself.

Her daughter had it _bad. _


	4. I Could Fall In Love

**Against All Odds**

_I Could Fall In Love_

"So, what are you going to do?" Chad asked, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

Troy looked up from tying his shoes. The boys had decided to spend free period playing a friendly game of basketball.

"About what?" Troy asked confused.

"Do you really have to ask that Troy?" Chad rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do about Gabriella?"

"What about her?"

"Stop playing dumb, man! When are you going to tell her how you feel?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Chad." Troy said almost too quickly.

"Troy, I saw the kiss the almost took place after the championship."

Troy rolled his eyes. 'The kiss that you interrupted.' He thought to himself.

"I also see the way you two are together." Chad continued. "Okay? The entire school sees it. When are _you_ going to see it, Troy?"

"She doesn't feel the same way Chad."

Chad smiled at his friends. "Ahhh, so you do have feelings for her?"

Troy looked up at his friend facing defeat. Chad could always get his deep secrets out of him. "I love her, Chad." He whispered so softly, Chad barely heard him.

"So what are you going to do about that?"

Troy just looked at him as they both made their way out into the hallway, and made their way to their next class.

"So what are you guys doing tonight?" Chad asked Troy.

"Oh, we're going to see a movie or something."

"Yeah, and that's totally not a date." Chad said sarcastically.

"Is it?"

"Dude, just take her to see a chick flick. All girls want you to take them to see chick flicks because they think you're romantic. I don't know. It works every time."

* * *

Gabriella and Taylor sat in Chemistry class working on a lab assignment. Taylor looked at her best friend, and could she was really focusing hard on the task at hand._ 'Too _hard.' Taylor thought. Taylor had been badgering Gabriella with questions, and Gabriella was determined not to answer.

"Do not avoid the subject, Gabriella!"

"Taylor." Gabriella said flatly. "I'm focusing on the chemical solution in front of me. I would really like it if you would do the same, and stop asking me stupid questions."

Taylor smirked. "If you're avoiding it this badly, then it has to be true."

"Taylor!" Gabriella yelled, causing several other students in the class to look up. Gabriella's cheeks flushed, and she calmed herself. "Leave it be."

"Okay, Gabs. I'll let it go."

"Thank you. Now hand me the weighed portion of Sodium Chloride."

Taylor grabbed the tube containing the compound and handed it to Gabriella who poured it into the glass sitting over a Bunsen burner.

"So, what are you doing tonight? You want to hang out?"

Gabriella shook her head and smiled. "I'm sorry Tay, but I can't. Me and Troy are going to the movies tonight."

Taylor smiled. "Oh, but just as friends though. Since we _clearly_ established earlier that you don't like him."

Gabriella glared at her friend, realizing she would never let go of the subject. "Yes, Taylor. We're just friends."

"And you have no feelings for him? Honestly?"

Gabriella looked at her friend. She knew she couldn't deny it, she _did_ have feelings for Troy. She just didn't know what they meant yet. She was scared by the fact that she could hardly focus in class anymore because she was always thinking about him. He was the first thing she thought about in the mornings and the last thing on her mind at nights. She counted down the minutes until she got see him and spend time with him.

"I'll take that as a yes." Taylor winked at her friend.

"Taylor," Gabriella pleaded. "Please don't tell Chad. Cause then he'll tell Troy, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that?"

"Gabriella, I won't tell him, but I'm sure he already knows."

"How?" Gabriella began to panic.

"Because everyone knows. We all see the way you two look at each other. There's no denying there's something there."

"But Troy doesn't feel the same way."

"Gabs? Listen to me. I've been going to school with Troy Bolton my entire life. He has never talked, let alone looked, at someone the way he does you. He's definitely feeling something for you."

"You think?"

"I know so."

Gabriella smiled at her friend for the first time that day.

"Just make sure he takes you to a scary movie." Taylor piped up.

"Why?"

"Because all guys take girls to scary movies so they can cuddle up to them when it gets scary."

"Oh, right." Gabriella nodded her head like she knew what Taylor was talking about.

'Where do people come up with this stuff?' She thought.

* * *

Troy had met Gabriella at her house, and her mother had driven them to the movies. Sure, he liked her mother, but he hated being driven around by everyone. He had been too busy from basketball to take the time to take the courses and get his license, but his dad promised that they would get everything taken care of soon.

Isabella pulled up to the curve, and let the two teenagers out. "Have fun you two." She called out. "But not too much fun!"

Both Gabriella and Troy's cheeks blushed a bright shade of red. "Mom!" Gabriella hissed.

"Okay, I'm leaving!" Her mother laughed as she pulled away.

Now that they were alone, they both became nervous. The conversations they had both had earlier now flashed through both their minds. They walked into the theater, staring at the movie posters that hung in front of them.

'Okay, what did Chad say? If this were a date, a girl would normally want a guy to take her to go see... a...chick flick.' Troy remembered.

"Scary movie. Scary movie. Scary movie.' Gabriella repeated in her mind. 'If this is a date he'll take me to see a scary movie.'

They both turned to face each other.

"So..." They said at the same time. The next lines also came out in unison.

"I was thinking Tristan and Isolde."  
"I was thinking Hostel."

"Oh." They said still speaking in unison.

"Ok, we've got to stop that." Troy laughed, making Gabriella laugh.

'She wanted to see a scary movie! I thought girls like chick flicks! Maybe this isn't a date...'

'He said something about a romance movie! Where's Taylor so I can kick her..'

"Actually, Hostel sounds pretty good." Troy said, trying to sound enthusiastic. It was becoming harder and harder after he realized this wasn't a date. He had been excited about it all afternoon.

'Great.' Gabriella thought. 'I'm stuck watching a scary movie because I thought Troy liked me. Obviously not! He recommended Tristan and Isolde – why can't we watch that! I hate scary movies! Really where's Taylor? We need to share some words.'

'At least I get to watch a crazy scary movie with my best friend.' Troy thought to himself, feeling sad. He really wanted this to be more than that.

"Hey Troy, you coming?" Gabriella was walking over to buy the tickets.

"Yeah." He said. He turned to the counter. "We'd like two for Hostel. 8:30. Thanks." He handed the man a twenty, and took his change.

"You didn't have to buy my ticket, Troy."

"Yeah, but I wanted to."

"Okay! As long as I can buy the popcorn!" She smiled, and ran over to the concessions. Troy laughed as he followed her.

"Butter, or extra butter?" She asked him.

"Definitely extra. You can't go wrong with extra butter." He joked.

"Oh, I agree. One large extra buttery popcorn!" She told the kid behind the counter. They heard a group of girls behind them giggle.

"Hi Troy!" All the girls said in unison before running off before he could see them. Troy's looked down in embarrassment as Gabriella laughed at him.

"Oh Troy!" She said in a mocking tone. "You're sooooo gorgeous. And like seriously, the, uh, like hottest super-bum!"

Troy laughed. "What is it with you and 'super-bum'?"

"It's the only word I know from the cheerleader language."

"I'm glad you don't talk like that Gabby. I'd be going crazy by now."

"But seriously, does that happen to you a lot?"

"Oh, you know. Here and there." He said in a macho tone.

"Come on, let's go before your ego gets too big."

They both laughed as Gabriella linked her arm with Troy's and they walked down the hallway. The nervousness they both felt earlier had subsided. Well, at least for now.

* * *

Gabriella's hands had been over her eyes for a large portion of the movie. Troy laughed each time she would flinch at something remotely scary. He felt Gabriella pull on his shirt, forcing him to come closer so she could hide her face into his chest.

For several moments Troy didn't know what to do. He felt Gabriella loosen her grip as she turned to face the screen again.

'Oooohh. Not a good time, Gabby.' He laughed to himself as she realized the same thing, and turned back around again to hide her face. He eased her away for a moment as he lifted the armrest, making it more comfortable for her. She immediately fell back into him, and he gently placed his arms around her. From time to time he would rub her back or arms, especially at moments she jumped with fear.

A while later the movie had ended, but neither had noticed. Troy had become quite comfortable with Gabriella in his arms, and she had resorted that she should just _stay_ turned away from the screen. She also, _really_ liked being held by Troy. She found it sweet that he had comforted her.

Troy shook her gently. "Gabriella, are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that I really hate scary movies."

"I'm sorry Gabby. We didn't have to see..." He trailed off.

'Wait a second! Didn't she recommend this movie?' He asked himself. He started to ask her why she chose this movie, but stopped when he looked down and saw two beautiful brown eyes staring at him. They inched closer, they're lips just centimeters away. As they held their breaths, both Troy and Gabriella closed their eyes. Just before their lips met, they heard a buzzing noise. Suddenly Gabriella pulled away, and began rummaging through her purse.

"Everything ok?" He croaked out. He was still flushed from what almost happened.

"Yeah, it's just a text message from my mom. She's waiting outside for us."

"Oh." Troy said disappointed. "Well, let's go then. It's probably getting really late."

"Yeah." It was the only thing Gabriella could say. Her mind kept racing over the incident that just taken place. She had _almost_ kissed Troy Bolton! More than than, she really wanted to kiss him.

They stood up and walked out of the theater. They saw Gabriella's mother waiting by the curb, and they both climbed into the car.

"Sorry, Mom. The movie took longer than we thought it would."

"That's okay Gabby. I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

The rest of the ride home was spent in an awfully awkward silence. Neither knew what to think of what had happened.

They finally reached Troy's house. Gabriella turned to face him. "Thanks for going to the movies with me Troy." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze that sent electricity through his entire body. "I had a great time."

"Yeah, I did too. I'll talk to you sometime later, okay?"

"Sounds great Troy. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight Gabby. Goodnight Ms. Montez."

He closed the door and walked towards his door letting out a huge sigh.

Was it really supposed to be this hard?

* * *

Gabriella sighed as she flopped onto her bed. Physically, she was tired. Her mind, on the other hand, was racing. 

'Did he want to kiss me too?'

'No stupid, of course he didn't!'

"But he was inching closer too! Plus, I saw it in his eyes!'

'You just thought you saw it.'

She stopped when she heard her cell phone go off, notifying that she had a text message. She reached over, picked it up, and flipped it open.

_Hey Gabby. Just wanted to say I really did have a great time. Would you like to do something tomorrow? We could like go to a park or something. It could be fun._

_Troy_

Gabriella laughed as she could practically hear Troy rambling. She clicked reply and began typing back.

_Sure, I'd love to. I'll see you tomorrow._

She clicked 'send', and waited for his response. A few moments later heard her phone ring.

_Great! Goodnight Gabriella._

She smiled at the message.

_Goodnight Troy._

She shut the phone shut, placed it on her bedside, and laid back to sleep. This time, however, her thoughts weren't racing. She simply fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**A/N!**

_Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed that. I've got some great ideas for the next few chapters, so please review --- I like reading them. Plus if you have any ideas, just let me know!_


	5. Heaven Isn't Too Far Away

**Against All Odds**

_Heaven Isn't Too Far Away_

Gabriella and Troy spent the next day together. That afternoon, Troy took Gabriella putt-putting (she won) and they ate hot dogs from a vendor's stand in the park. They retreated to Troy's later that night, where they had dinner and played board games with his parents. Throughout the entire day, neither Troy or Gabriella brought up the incident that had happened the previous night. They both acted as they always had, and were still the best of friends. Both of them believed that nothing substantial had changed in their relationship.

But it had.

Jack Bolton knew his son had feelings for Gabriella, but tonight he noticed something more. He saw more than just a simple attraction in the gazes Troy sent Gabriella. He saw respect, admiration, and more importantly, love.

Marie Bolton was quite used to girls being interested in Troy. She could remember dozens of nights being woken up by phone calls made by giggling girls, of days where Troy would come bursting through the front door because he had been followed by a group of girls. But there was something different about Gabriella. She wasn't interested in Troy because he was the Wildcat superstar, but simply because he was Troy. And Marie really appreciated her for that.

And neither parent could deny the newly formed sense of closeness. While they were all in the den playing board games, both Jack and Marie noticed Troy's arm around Gabriella as she leaned comfortably into his chest.

But all of this was oblivious to Troy and Gabriella.

**

* * *

**

Sunday morning Troy waited impatiently outside of the Albuquerque Church of Christ. He noticed that a few people had begun to trickle out of the front doors, so he assumed that the service had ended or was close to.

As more and more people came out, he quickly scanned the crowd looking for Gabriella. A few moments later he spotted her and her mother talking to an elderly man.

"Gabby!" he yelled running up to her.

Gabriella turned to see who was calling her name, but smiled when she was Troy.

"Troy! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I have something to show you!" he said excitedly, taking her handing and leading her away.

"Mom, I'll be right back!" She called out to her mother as Troy pulled her away. He continued to lead her out, weaving in and out of people, and through the parking lot. She suddenly felt him stop, looking around her Gabriella was confused. There was nothing here. They were in the middle of the parking lot.

"So, what do you think?" He asked.

"About what?"

"My new car!" Troy held out his hand pointing to a red Grand Am parked right in front of them. "Well, it's not _new _new, but you get what I mean." He grinned.

"Wait! What? How?" She asked him excited.

"My dad took me to get my license this morning. After I passed, he took me to my grandparents where I saw this car in the driveway. I guess he bought it back a while when I first turned sixteen."

"Troy, I am so excited for you. This car is awesome!" She jumped into his arms, engulfing him in a hug. Troy wrapped his arms around her and spun her around.

"So, you want to go for a ride with me." He asked putting her back on the ground.

"Are you sure you want to take me? I mean, you're the Wildcat superstar." She joked. "I'm sure there's someone more exciting than me."

"Nope." He smiled sweetly at her. "You are the only person I want to be with right now."

Gabriella blushed at him. "Well, let me go tell my mom." Gabriella ran off, returning a few minutes later.

"She says it's okay, as long as we're safe."

"Gabby, I would never let anything happen to you." He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for her to get in. As Troy walked around to the other side, she settled into her seat, putting on her seat belt. She looked around the interior of the car and realized how nice and clean everything was.

"So are you ready to go?" Troy said starting up the car.

"Where are we going?"

"That I can't tell you." He smiled mischievously,.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they were on the freeway, windows down with the wind blowing through their hair. Troy looked over at Gabriella, whose hand was out the window, cupping the air and slicing her hand through the wind. Her soft curls were flying in the wind, and a smile illuminated her face. He thought that she had never looked more beautiful. 

"Troy this car is so nice! I bet you're so excited."

"Yeah, I am. I'm the luckiest guy in the world right now. This car, this day - all with you by my side. How can I not be excited." She looked over and met his gaze, her smile growing.

"So." she said with a sparkle in her eye. "Where are you taking me?"

"I can't tell you that Gabriella. It's a secret." He laughed at her.

Smiling, Gabriella reached to the radio and turned it up. When they both recognized the song, they began to sing along.

_Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire  
__Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher  
__If we roll from town to town and never shut it down  
__  
Would you go with me if we were lost in fields of clover  
__Would we walk even closer until the trip was over  
__And would it be okay if I didn't know the way_

_If I gave you my hand would you take it  
__And make me the happiest man in the world  
__If I told you my heart couldn't beat one more minute without you, girl  
__Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea  
__Let me know if you're really a dream  
__I love you so, so would you go with me_

_Would you go with me if we rode the clouds together  
__Could you not look down forever  
__If you were lighter than a feather  
__Oh, and if I set you free, would you go with me_

_If I gave you my hand would you take it  
__And make me the happiest man in the world  
__If I told you my heart couldn't beat one more minute without you, girl  
__Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea  
__Help me tie up the ends of a dream  
__I gotta know, would you go with me_

_I love you so, so would you go with me_

As the song ended, Gabriella smiled and looked over at Troy.

"I didn't know you liked Josh Turner."

"Well, I do." He smiled.

"First John Mayer, now Josh Turner. What other secrets you got hiding up those sleeves?" She giggled.

"I like singing with you." He said so sweetly, Gabriella felt her heart flop.

"What secrets do you have Miss Montez?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I have no secrets."

"Everybody has secrets, and believe me, I will find out yours." The mischievous look was back in his eyes. Suddenly the car stopped. Gabriella looked and saw they were parked. She hadn't even realized they were off the interstate.

"Come with me." Troy was out of the car, and had opened up Gabriella's door, holding out a hand. She grabbed it and stood up. Troy stood behind her, and placed his eyes over her eyes.

"Okay, I'm going to direct you, so just walk forward." Gabriella did as he said so, but very reluctantly.

"Troy, why am I not allowed to see where I'm going?"

"Trust me Gabriella, okay? You'll love this."

They continued to tip toe along, Troy directing Gabriella up sidewalks, stairs, and other obstacles. Finally, they reached their destination.

"Okay Gabby. If you hold out your hands, you'll feel a stone ledge, I want you to hold on to it."

"Troy, where am I?"

"See for yourself." He said taking his hands off of her eyes. Gabriella looked out, and gasped. She was standing there, looking out at the Grand Canyon.

"Troy." She whispered. "It's so beautiful."

Troy smiled at her. "You told me yesterday that you've wanted to see it since you were a little girl, so I knew I wanted to take you here."

She turned to him and hugged him.

"Thank you Troy."

"It's my pleasure, Gabby."

* * *

They had spent the entire day there, but as night crept upon them, they had to leave. 

"Gabby, we'll come back. I promise." He said taking her hand. He led her to the car, and opened the door for her. He got in, started the car, and began the drive home.

"Thank you so much Troy. I will never forget this day. Ever." She said.

"Well, good. That means you can't forget me either." He laughed.

"Troy I could never forget you." She said, yawning after she had finished.

"Sleep, Gabby. It's a long drive. I'll wake up when we get home, okay?"

"Okay."

Gabriella immediately dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Troy pulled into Gabriella's driveway, and looked over at her. She was too peaceful to wake up. Instead he got out, and opened her door. Gently he unbuckled her seat belt. He put one arm behind her back, the other below her knees and picked her up bridal style. With his foot he closed the door and walked up to her front door. He managed to ring the door bell with his foot as well. 

Ms. Montez opened the door, and smiled at the sight she saw in front of her.

"Her room's up the stairs and to the left. You'll see it." She whispered.

He mouthed 'thank you' and walked up the stairs. Walking into her room, he placed her onto her bed, and pulled the blanket over her. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

He began to walk out, but stopped. "Goodnight Gabby. I love you." He whispered.

He walked back down the stairs where Isabella was sitting in the living room.

"Did she enjoy it?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I think she really did. She was like a little kid." He said causing Isabella to laugh. "Thanks for not saying anything to her about it."

"I wouldn't ruin your surprise Troy. I'm just glad she finally got to see it. She's been babbling about it since she was little. I've been working so much we hadn't gotten a chance to go, but I'm glad you took her. Thank you, Troy."

"Your welcome. I'm going to head home now, will you tell Gabriella I said 'goodbye.'"

"I will. Bye Troy."

"Bye Ms. Montez."

* * *

Up in her room, Gabriella was in deep sleep. Her mother walked in to check on her before she herself went to sleep. Seeing that everything was okay, she began to walk out. She stopped when she heard Gabriella turn. 

"I love you too, Troy." she mumbled in her sleep.

Isabella smiled, and shut the door.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you all enjoyed that. It was definitely fluffy, but things won't always be fluff! You can see Troy's car on my profile :) Please review._


	6. Saints And Sailors

**Against All Odds**

_Saints and Sailors_

"Okay class!" Ms. Darbus called out to the students. "Please be seated."

A few remaining students wandered into the class, and everyone found their seats.

"Today we get to work on our favorite humanities project." She said dryly. Louise Darbus had worked at East High for nearly twenty five years. She had been the drama teacher for twenty. She had been here longer than all but one teacher, including Principal Matsui himself. Yet, no one gave her the slightest amount of respect. Her musicals were always on the back burner to the sports teams, and it was her class that was interrupted for this stupid community service project.

A few groans let out as the students realized what she meant. Troy looked over at Gabriella, and gave a fearful look that made her giggle.

"Today's activity will be slightly different, however. I will pair up your groups, making larger groups of four. These groups will have to build some sort of presentation that expresses every member of the group. You will get three days this week to work on these projects and Friday we will have class in the auditorium to display them all."

More groans let out when the students realized that each and every one of them would have to put in some amount of effort to complete this project.

"And here are the groups. Taylor Mckessie, Mark Robbins, Zeke Baylor, and Sharpay Evans: you will be group number one. Chad Danforth, Melanie Smith, Jason Cross, and Kelsi Neilson: you are group number two. Gabriella Montez, Tim Nichols, Troy Bolton, and Zane Brown: you are group three."

Ms. Darbus continued to list of groups, but Troy had stopped listening. Even though he hated working with Zane – the chance to work with Gabriella made all that very unimportant.

The groups began to move towards each other as Ms. Darbus finished calling off the groups.

"Now please send up one of your group members to draw and determine what order you will be displaying your projects on Friday."

Troy, Gabriella, Zane, and Tim all looked at each other.

"I'll go." Gabriella said, smiling at the three boys looking at her.

As she made her way to the front of the room, Troy, Zane, and Tim all sat awkwardly in their group. For Troy, it seemed like eternity waiting for Gabriella to return. He was more than relieved when he saw her walking back.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is good news or not, but we're last." She said trying to keep the enthusiasm. It was more than evident that this was going to be a difficult situation. She held out her hand to Zane.

"I'm Gabriella, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Zane looked up at her but didn't take her hand. Gabriella simply put her hand back down and sat down again between Troy and Tim.

"Hi Tim, I'm.."

"I know who you are Bolton."

Gabriella winced. Silently, she prayed for just some form of help.

"Can we just get this over with?" Zane finally spoke up.

"I thought you didn't care Brown?" Troy said dryly, but immediately regretted after seeing Gabriella's reaction. He knew she was trying to make this go as smoothly as possible and right now he wasn't helping. He glanced at her apologetically, and was relieved when she smiled at him.

"Well, if I don't pass this class I have to repeat this entire year. I just want to get the hell out of here."

"Well that's enough motivation for me!" Gabriella said standing up. "Why don't we all head to the foyer." The three boys stood and followed her out the door.

* * *

Zeke, Sharpay, Taylor, and Mark all sat in the chemistry lab staring blankly at each other.

"So, uh, what is something we all have in common?" Zeke said, stumbling over his words. Even he knew that none of them had anything in common, well except Taylor and Mark's academic interest.

"Well, I like video games..." Mark said.

"Yeah, I guess I do too." Zeke said, his hopes rising a bit. They were immediately shot down when he saw Taylor and Sharpay's blank faces.

"Okay, well I bake." He said. There was no response to this.

'Dear God.' Taylor thought to herself. She looked around the lab at all the test tubes and beakers as if she were trying to find an answer. Then suddenly it hit her.

"Oh, I got it." She said, a wide grin across her face.

* * *

Melanie sat in a corner of the music room scribbling at her sketch book. Chad, Jason, and Kelsi all sat staring at her. How were they ever going to find something to express all of them?

Kelsi stood up and made her way to the piano. She silently played the keys as they all sat racking their brains for some sort of idea. Jason and Chad related to each other in several ways, but they couldn't think of anything that incorporated the girls. Kelsi listened to the boys brainstorm ideas as she broke into "Heart and Soul."

Suddenly, Melanie spoke up. "Can you play that in a duet?"

Kelsi looked up. "You play piano?"

"Since I was six. My mom was trying to take my mind off of things, so she got me a hobby." Melanie answered blankly, glancing at Chad. She knew that he knew what happened at age six for her to need a hobby.

"Maybe we can make this work." Jason said.

"Guys, I have an idea!" Chad jumped up and walked over to the piano.

* * *

"So what do you like to do Zane?" Gabriella asked.

He looked at her. "Listen honey, I have nothing in common with you. This is a lost cause."

"Okay. Tim, what about you? Tell me what you like?" She said with a sweet smile.

Suddenly, Tim was nervous. Her smile had shot right through his walls he put up everyday.

"I, uh, well. Um. I like anime?" He said with a question.

"Like art?" She asked.

"Yeah, kinda like that."

Gabriella looked at Troy who shrugged his shoulders. She then looked at Zane who was staring down the hallway. He shifted his weight, and she noticed something shimmer on his belt. She squinted her eyes to see what it was, and she realized what it was his key chain. But something on it was sticking out like a sore thumb. A silver guitar pick.

"Zane?" She said grabbing his attention, her eyes never leaving the pick. "Do you play guitar?"

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" He shot at her.

Troy followed her glance and saw what she was looking at. "Your guitar pick." He said, his focus now on the silver key chain.

"Wait. I play bass." Tim said excitedly. This grabbed Gabriella's attention.

"You play bass? This is absolutely perfect!"

Troy realized where Gabriella was going with this, and it was brilliant.

"Could you guys bring your equipment tomorrow?" He said.

"Okay, look Bolton. I realize you're all excited that me and shrimp here actually have something in common, but what will you and pigtails do to contribute?"

Gabriella grabbed one of her braids, and glared at him.

"Zane - Troy and Gabby can sing." Tim said looking at the tall grungy boy.

Gabriella's hurt subsided when she heard Tim call her "Gabby." Only her mother and her closest friends called her that. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much. She shrugged it off, and look over at Zane who had begun to speak.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, they're the leads in the winter musical. They could sing."

"Sorry, I don't play show music."

"You should hold your breath. I'm sure Gabriella could sing any music you threw at her." Troy said defensively.

"I think I'm a little too hard rock for pigtails." He said winking at Gabriella.

"Please call me by my name." She said, her voice firm. Troy looked at her, surprised. He had never seen Gabriella even slightly angry.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Tim's head. "I got it. Follow me." He started walking down the hall, causing the others to follow him.

A few minutes later, they were in the computer lab and Tim was searching up something on the Internet. After he found what he was looking for, he printed it off and brought it to Zane.

"You know this song?"

"Of course I do. This band is killer."

"Then we'll play this song. It's even a duet."

"Okay, I realize they can sing for a musical. But there is no way they can sing this."

Gabriella grabbed the paper and looked at the tablature in front of her. She recognized the song immediately and began to belt out her part. She caught everyone off guard, but mostly Zane.

"Okay, I take that back." He said honestly.

"We'll start practice tomorrow." Gabriella said, her voice was still firm. She walked out of the room, followed by Troy and Tim. Zane was still standing there dumbfounded.

* * *

The next few days were quite busy for Gabriella and Troy. The first few meetings for the musical had taken place, and Ms. Darbus decided that official practice would start in two weeks. They also had this project to deal with, and that was an entirely different story.

After realizing how huge this project was, Ms. Darbus gave the groups every day to work on it, but she raised how many points the project was worth as well. And this stressed everyone out into trying to make it as good as they possibly could.

Gabriella, Troy, Tim and Zane had just finished their practice for the day.

"Bye Tim." Gabriella said as she packed up her things. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She left the room, already in deep conversation with Troy. Tim sat there, kneeling at his guitar speechless, unable to fasten his guitar case.

"Dude, don't get your hopes up." Zane said smirking at him.

"Excuse me?" Tim said, breaking out of his trance.

"I see the way you're looking at her man. And I can see she's actually got a genuine heart, but she's got eyes for the basketball star."

"They're just friends. Even she told me so last week during the questionnaire."

"Whatever man." Zane said walking out of the room, guitar case in hand.

"They're just friends." Tim said again, although he was the only one to hear.


	7. Comfortable

_it's been a long time, and i'm sorry. but this is a looong chapter :) i fixed their song by the way for those of you who read the first version where it was all messed up. sorry :(_

_just so you know later on for Troy and Gabby's song - Troy is italic, Gabby is **bold italic, **and both is underline italics._

**

* * *

**

_Comfortable_

"Can you believe we start practice for the musical in only a week?" Troy asked Gabriella as they drove home from school that afternoon. Ever since Troy got his car, he made it routine to pick Gabriella up for school and take her home in the afternoons.

"It's crazy isn't it. These past few weeks have been so incredibly crazy!" She giggled.

"Well, it's only getting crazier from here. After this project it's day and night musical. It's going to be worse than basketball." Troy said with a laugh.

"You can still back out if you want to Troy. I'm sure Ryan wouldn't mind stepping in." She said, slightly disappointed.

"Gabby, there is no way I'm backing out of this. I haven't been this excited since, well I can't remember when. Being up there on that stage, singing and acting... with _you_ is going to one of the highlights of my life. I just know it."

"Thank you. I was hoping you would say that. I don't want to do the musical with Ryan." She said causing him to laugh.

"Well, I won't leave you with Ryan if you swear to me you won't leave me with Sharpay." He said still laughing.

Gabriella smiled over at him. "I promise."

"So what do you think of the song? I think it's really coming along." He asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, me too. I'm just really surprised we actually got them both to participate in something."

"I think it's going to go really well. Are you nervous about performing it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am. But I know you'll be up there with me, and that'll make my fears go away." She smiled at him.

"You're pretty amazing you know that?"

Gabriella blushed at his compliment. "No, I'm not."

"You are though. You've completely turned this school upside down. Look at Chad and Taylor. Who would have ever thought they'd end up together? But you did that."

"We did that, Troy."

"No, because if you hadn't moved here, I would have never become what I am today. You are a genuinely good person Gabriella Montez. I mean look at Tim. That guy lights up when you talk to him. You make people feel important."

"Well, that means a lot to me Troy. But I still think we both had something to do with it. I would never have sang if I hadn't of met you."

"Okay, good point." He laughed.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued their drive

"He scares me, Troy." Gabriella said so quietly Troy almost didn't hear it. He looked around at the houses they were passing trying to see who she was talking about.

"I don't see anybody Gabs, who are you talking about?"

"Tim. I don't know what it is, but he creeps me out." She looked over at him and Troy could see the genuine fear in her eyes. "He's just always looking at me, and he called me Gabby today. I just didn't like it."

"Well, of course he's always looking at you – you're beautiful." He stopped and blushed when he realized what he had said, but when he saw Gabriella smiling, it made everything okay. "And maybe he's just excited to actually have someone be nice to him for once."

Gabriella thought about what Troy had said. Her mind was in completely two different worlds. First, she reasoned with what Troy had said about Tim, and she knew he was right. Tim was probably just excited to actually have a friend. But the other half of her was screaming inside. Troy had called her beautiful and she was completely giddy from it.

"Yeah, you're right Troy. I guess I was just over analyzing it."

"Hey, if you get any more weird vibes you tell me, and I'll protect you. It's probably nothing but you shouldn't dismiss it completely. Just give him a chance as a friend. I'm sure you'll be proven wrong." Troy reached over and grabbed her hand giving a light squeeze. His touch sent chills up Gabriella's arm and all over her body. Now _this _felt right. He released her hand, but both could still feel the warmth of each other's hand linger on their own.

"Who would of thought Superstar Troy Bolton would ever be advising that." She giggled.

"I told you Brie, you changed all of us for the better."

"Now _that _I like!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"Brie. No one has ever called me that before. I like it."

"Well, it can my special name for you. How about that?"

"I think I like that a lot."

"Yeah, me too."

They drove the rest of the way in that same comfortable silence they had fallen into earlier. Troy walked Gabriella to her door and then made his own way home, smiling the entire way.

* * *

The next morning Gabriella woke up with a smile. She had been up half the night on the phone with Troy and she didn't even feel tired. She quickly got up and got dressed. She wanted to look extra nice today for the project knowing that she'd be on stage in front of all of her friends and classmates. After picking out her clothes, she went into the bathroom, showered and then got dressed. She carefully styled her hair and applied light make up to her face. After about thirty minutes, she felt completely satisfied and made her way downstairs. She was surprised to see that Troy was sitting at the island with her mother in the kitchen. 

"Good morning, Mom. Good morning Troy." She said smiling at the boy at the counter.

"Good morning Brie." He said making Gabriella smile at her newly earned nickname.

"What are you doing here so early, Troy?" she asked.

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I'd come see you." He smiled at her. "Me and your mom have been talking about the presentation today."

"So Gabs, you ready for it?" Her mother asked placing a plate of eggs, sausage and toast in front of each of the teenagers. She then reached over and grabbed two glasses and poured each of them a glass of orange juice.

"I think so. I'm nervous, but I know Troy will be there so it'll be okay." She said smiling.

"Well, I think you'll both do great." Isabella Montez said.

"Thank you, Ms. Montez." He stopped when he saw Isabella glance at him. "I mean, Isabella." He said and she chuckled at him. "Oh, and thanks for breakfast too."

"Yeah, thanks Mom."

The three continued to carry on light conversation as they finished their food. Gabriella and Troy gathered their things they needed for school, each giving Isabella a goodbye hug, and made their way to Troy's car.

As Troy started the car, Gabriella sat back comfortably and adjusted her seat belt. She took a deep breath as she took in the scent of Troy's car. She _loved_ this smell. It was Troy in every way – a mixture of his cologne and his natural scent along with his shampoo and the vanilla air freshener that hung from his rear view mirror. Gabriella smiled at she realized that there weren't many other places where she felt more comfortable. But with Troy by her side, she could be comfortable almost anywhere.

* * *

Half of the school day had passed, and it was time for the class period that most of the students were both anticipating and dreading. Gabriella sat nervously in between Troy and Tim in the auditorium as they watched the other groups perform. Zane was seated all the way in the back, not want to be associated with anyone from the class. 

Troy looked over at Gabriella and could tell she was nervous. He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving a light squeeze.

"Brie, you are going to do amazing. I know it." He smiled at her, hoping it would help cease her nervousness, and then returned his gaze to the stage. Currently, a group was reciting lines from a poem they all four had written. Apparently, it was about a giraffe who escaped from the zoo and became a doctor. Or something like that.

* * *

Tim looked away from the stage and glanced at Gabriella's lap. He had felt a ping of jealousy when he saw Troy grab it a few minutes ago, but that jealousy was growing every minute that Troy continued to hold on to it. 

'They're just friends.' He thought to himself, trying to control his anger.

* * *

Chad, Melanie, Jason, and Kelsi walked off the stage feeling quite proud of themselves. They looked out at the crowd and could see their fellow classmates clapping and cheering for them, and that only raised their confidence higher. 

The four had come up with a themed project titled "Art and Basketball" and Melanie had made a banner that now hung across the back stage that replicated the cover for the movie _Love and Basketball,_ except the "love" was "art." Then she and Kelsi started out on the pianos while Chad and Jason did basketball drills to the music. All-in-all, it was a pretty good project.

As they made their way off the stage, Chad shook hands with Zeke and his group as they made their way to the stage. He blew Taylor a kiss as she walked by causing her grin.

The rest of the classmates sat in the auditorium for several moments while Taylor, Mark, Sharpay, and Zeke got their project set up. They could all hear loud noises from behind stage, and Sharpay yelling a couple of times.

When the noises stopped, the curtains opened to reveal long strands of what appeared to be pink, purple and red crystals, but there was no one on stage. Music started blaring throughout the auditorium, and Zeke appeared with an extremely large cake. Suddenly a percussion beat accompanied the song and Sharpay burst out of the cake causing most of the students to laugh. They stopped when Sharpay began to sing.

_Give it to me_

_I'm so addicted_

_To the lovin that you're feeding to me_

_Can't do without it_

_This feeling's got me weak in the knees_

_Body's in withdrawal_

_Every time you take it away_

_Can't you hear me callin'_

_Begging you to come out and play?_

Zeke pulled Sharpay out of the cake and she continued to sing and dance around him.

_So baby come to me_

_Show me who you are_

_Sweet to me_

_Like sugar to my heart_

_I'm cravin' for you_

_I'm missin' you like candy_

_Sweet, sweet lovin'_

_Got me going to the extreme_

_Won't go without it_

_This vibe has got a hold on me_

_Satisfying, baby_

_Let me show you what I'm made of_

_No doubt about it boy_

_Got me feeling crazy_

_Can't get enough_

_Baby, baby, baby, won't you come to me_

_Show me who you are_

_Sweet to me_

_Like sugar to my heart_

_I'm cravin' for you_

_I'm missin' you like candy_

_So baby come to me_

_Show me who you are_

_Sweet to me_

_Like sugar to my heart_

_I'm cravin' for you_

_I'm missin' you like candy_

As the interlude came on, Taylor and Mark came down the aisles from behind all the students with plates of rock candy made from their chemistry set and hard candy that Zeke had baked. After everyone had received some form of candy they ran up on stage as Sharpay ended the song, all four striking a pose.

_Boy I'm cravin' _

_Missin' you like candy_

They all bowed at the end of the song as their fellow students erupted with applause.

"Now that was interesting." Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear, causing her to burst out in laughter.

As the applause died down and the group was almost finished cleaning up the stage, Ms. Darbus called out. "Bolton, Brown, Montez, Nichols. You're on."

Gabriella looked up at Troy nervously, who smiled back at her. "You're going to blow them away Brie." The three made their way up with Zane slightly behind them. Zane and Tim went behind the stage to pull out their amps and equipment and set it up on stage. Gabriella and Troy went behind stage and emerged with two wooden stools, placing them on stage slightly in between and ahead of Zane and Tim's amps.

Looking around, Troy could see that everyone was ready and looked at Gabriella who nodded and smiled. He nodded at Zane who began to play, shortly after accompanied by Tim.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, his eyes meeting hers, and began to sing.

_I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
_  
_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore_

_**The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away **(away)  
**There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight **(no one left to fight)  
**I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**_

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away  
_  
_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone_

_You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore_

Gabriella and Troy put their microphones down and beamed as they were met with a standing ovation. Troy took her hand and they bowed, and then held their hands out pointing at Zane and Tim. They quickly put everything away and made their way back to their seats. All four were met with "that was amazing" and "you guys are soo good" from everyone standing in the audience.

Taking her seat, Gabriella still couldn't stop smiling. Every time she sang with Troy she ended up feeling completely elated.

All the students watched as Ms. Darbus made her way up the stage.

"I believe that 'bravo' and 'brava' is indeed in order for every single one of you. I am very proud of how these projects turned out. Congratulations students. You are dismissed." She said flailing her arms about. Before she knew anything, Gabriella was being pulled out of the auditorium.

Several minutes later, she and Troy stopped in what she already recognized as the science flower garden on the roof. Troy pulled her into a hug, and just held her there for several minutes. When they pulled apart, Gabriella looked up at him confused.

"I just wanted to tell you that that was amazing. _You _were amazing."

Gabriella's cheeks flushed as she smiled widely at Troy. "How many times must I tell you Troy? _We're _amazing."

Troy laughed at this, and realized how badly he wanted to kiss Gabriella at that moment. He put his hands on her waist and began to lean in closer.

Gabriella realized what was happening and grew nervous and anxious. She closed her eyes and waited as Troy leaned in.

They were only inches apart when they heard the intercom from the hallway downstairs.

"Gabriella Montez to the office please. Gabriella Montez."

Gabriella's eyes opened and she stepped away. "I-uh- I gotta- Um, Well. I gotta go." She said grabbing her stuff and walking away.

"Hey!" Troy called after her. She turned and looked at him. "I'll see you later okay?" He said with a smile telling Gabriella that everything was okay. She smiled back at him and made her way down the stairs.

Troy sighed as he leaned against the railing.

'Damn!'

* * *

The final bell rang, dismissing the students from school for the entire weekend. Troy gathered his things from his locker and made his way to Gabriella's locker so he could take her home. 

"Excuse me Miss?" He said tapping her on the shoulder. "I'm a huge fan of yours and wanted to know if I could have your autograph?" He held out a piece of paper and a pen.

Gabriella laughed at him, and playfully hit him on the arm.

"So, what did the office want?" He asked putting the paper and pen back in his bag. He noticed the smile on Gabriella's face disappear.

"They wanted to give me these." She bent over and lifted up an enormous vase of assorted flowers

"Well, why is that a bad thing?" He joked. "Who are they from? Your mom?"

"No."

Troy looked at her confused, and then pulled out the card.

_Gabby,_

_You're simply amazing_

_xoxo_

Troy laughed as he put the card back into it's envelope. "Looks like you have a secret admirer!"

"Troy it's not funny. Those could be from anyone. Why didn't they put their name on it?" She asked panicked.

"Well, it can't be a _secret_ admirer if they put their name on it now can it Brie?

"So," Gabriella said with a spark in her eyes. "How do I know their not from you?"

"First off. You deserve lilies." He said causing Gabriella to laugh." Second, I call you Brie, not Gabby."

Troy noticed that he was right and her smile fell. "Don't worry, okay? I told you I would take care of you and I will. Now come on, I'm taking you to get ice cream."

He put his arm around her waist, still carrying her flowers with the other arm, and walked out to his car. Gabriella looked up and knew that Troy was right, he would take care of her.

* * *

_there you have it. please review!!!_

_the songs were Candy by Mandy Moore and Broken by Seether featuring Amy Lee._


	8. Ice Cream Magic

_i made a web page where you can go and cechk out the music from this story, and my other troyella story 'best of me.' the link is on my profile :) i'm starting new story called 'the guardian' here soon, so make sure you keep an ice out for it!_

* * *

**Against All Odds**

_Ice Cream Magic_

The next three weeks passed by in a blur for both Gabriella and Troy. Practice for the musical was now in full swing, and was becoming more and more grueling by the day. The almost kiss was shoved under the rug, neither of them wanting to bring it up, although both of them thought about it constantly. The flowers that Gabriella had received were also something forgotten. Gabriella asked all her friends, and Troy secretly went on mission to find out who sent them out of jealousy, but he too failed. Currently, everything revolved around the musical, and the musical only.

"I cannot do that routine again. I will seriously go crazy if I do." Troy said falling into one of the chairs set up backstage.

"Tell me about it! Is she trying to kill us?" Gabriella said as she took off her stage heels and began to rub her feet. Troy winced as he saw the blisters forming along both heels. "Are we still good for Saturday?"

"Yes, we are." Troy replied happily. "I spoke to Chad right before I came in for practice. He and Taylor are going to meet us at my house at seven. Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, and Jason are meeting us at Susie Q's. After dinner, we'll all drive to the theater."

"I'm so excited. We haven't even been able to just stop and relax for ten minutes since this whole musical started."

"No kidding. Besides, I haven't been to a drive-in since I was a little kid."

Gabriella looked over at him sheepishly.

"What?" Troy laughed as soon as he saw her expression.

"I've never been to a drive-in before."

"What?!?" Troy exclaimed. "Tell me you're joking me?" He laughed as Gabriella shook her head. "How in the world is it possible for you to have never been to a drive-in before?"

"I don't know. I just haven't." Gabriella suddenly felt embarrassed, and lowered her head.

Troy felt bad as he noticed this, and spoke up. "Well, then." He said matter-of-factly. "I, Troy Bolton, am honored to take _the_ Gabriella Montez to her very _first_ drive-in movie." He said as he knelt in front of her bowing his head and holding out his hand as if he were a knight.

Seeing this, Gabriella giggled, completely forgetting why she was even embarrassed. Just as she took his hand, they were both startled by a loud clapping noise followed by a voice they had grown to hate.

"Act II, Scene 3 people! Let's get a move on!" Ms. Darbus called out.

They both groaned as Gabriella reached down to put her shoes back on. She stood up and was pulled by Troy onto the stage.

* * *

The next day, Gabriella, Troy, and the rest of the gang sat at lunch eating their food and discussing their day's events. 

"I still can't get used to Zeke and Sharpay." Gabriella whispered to Troy, nodding her head over to the googley-eyed couple across from them.

"Yeah, me neither. But it gets her off my case, and she's definitely been less 'ice-queeny' lately. I can't complain about that."

"I agree with you there." She said, biting into her sandwich.

"So, aren't you glad it's Friday? No musical practice today."

"Thank God. But you know what else it means don't you?" She said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hmmm." Troy pretended to think. "Drive-ins tomorrow?"

"YEP!: She said loudly causing the rest of the table to glance her way before turning back to their own conversations.

Troy laughed at Gabriella's expression. He _loved_ it when she laughed or got excited like this. Her entire face lit up making her incredibly beautiful.

"I see you're just a little bit excited." Troy joked.

Gabriella opened to her mouth to respond but they were interrupted by a figure standing behind them.

"Gabriella?"

She whipped around to see Tim standing behind her.

"Hey Tim! What's up?"

Tim shifted nervously, and looked from Gabriella to Troy. He had hoped that Troy wouldn't be around when he came to talk to Gabriella, but he wasn't about to let the overrated basketball star stop him. Gabby was his friend with or without Troy Bolton. Still, he wished he wasn't around so much.

"Uh, I was, uh, wondering if maybe I could talk to you for a second?" Tim blurted out.

"Oh, sure Tim." Gabriella said and then stood up. She gave her friends one last look before leading Tim off to an empty corner of the cafeteria. She didn't entirely feel nervous around Tim anymore – they didn't really actually talk anymore since the project was over – but she knew that everyone deserved a chance to prove themselves. Troy had given her a chance to show her self almost two months ago, and she knew that because of that, she couldn't deny anyone else that either.

"So, what's up?" She asked as they reached the corner. Her nerves slightly jumped when she realized they were out of view of the people in the cafeteria, and she was curious as to what Tim would need to talk to her alone about.

"Well, I was – I was wondering, if uh, you could tutor me in math?"

Internally, Gabriella let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh! Of course Tim. I'd love to help you. We could even start today after school if that's okay for you."

"Yeah!" Tim said loudly, startling Gabriella. "That would be great!"

"Alright, well, just meet me in the library after school okay?"

"Okay."

"See you later Tim." Gabriella gave a big smiled and waved before walking away.

"I can't wait." Tim said when she was out of earshot.

* * *

Gabriella sat back down at the lunch table and picked up the half-eaten sandwich she had left. After swallowing her first bite, she looked up to notice all of her friends staring at her. 

"What?" she asked.

The group that surrounded her glanced at each other than back at her.

"What was that all about?" Sharpay blurted out, knowing she would be the only one blunt enough to find out details.

"Tim needs help in math." Gabriella said timidly. She felt as if she were being lectured by her mother.

"Why didn't he ask you that here?" Taylor spoke up. "And why would Tim Nichols need tutoring?"

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I just remember Tim actually being good at math. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else."

"I'm sure you are. Looks guys, I'm tutoring him. It's not like he's dangerous or anything."

"He gives me the creeps." Kelsi said quietly. The entire table looked at her. It wasn't every day that Kelsi spoke her mind like that.

"Ditto." Chad said.

"Okay, he gave me a weird vibe at first too. But just give him a chance, okay? The same chance we all gave each other after the Triple Win. It's not that hard. I don't know why Tim didn't ask me here. Maybe he's intimidated by all of you." Gabriella smiled, trying to encourage her friends. They all muttered some sort of 'okay' or 'whatever you say.' She felt discouraged until she felt a hand on her own giving it a tight squeeze. She looked over to Troy who gave her a smile.

"Don't worry Brie, we'll always stand by you. They just need to warm up."

"Thank you Troy." She looked back up at the group. They had already relaxed and fallen back into their conversations.

"I told Tim I would meet him after school to help him with math. I just wanted to let you know so you weren't waiting on me to give me a ride home." Gabriella said, turning back to Troy.

"How long will it be? I don't mind waiting on you Brie."

"I honestly don't know. I'd feel awful if you were waiting a long time. I'll just walk home, it's not really a big deal." Gabriella said. In fact, it was a big deal to her. She always looked forward to the rides home with Troy. Sometimes, it was her only time in a day to see him alone. But she wouldn't tell him that and make him wait on her. He definitely had more important things to do.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, well. If you're bored later, I mean, after you're done tutoring, you should give me a call. We could hang out or something." He smiled at her.

"I definitely will." She said as the bell rang dismissing them from lunch. "I'll talk to you later, Troy."

"Bye Brie."

* * *

Gabriella sat completely and utterly bored in the library and watched as Tim finished the problem she had given him. This was the tenth problem similar to this, and as many times as she had explained it to him, he still didn't get it. He was always making the same mistakes. She glanced down at her watched and groaned inwardly when she realized it was past five thirty. Had she really been sitting here for over two and a half hours? 

"Hey Tim, why don't we call it a day?"

"Oh, okay." He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I'm just a lost cause aren't I?"

"No, you're not. How 'bout we work on this some more Monday during free period?"

"That sounds great. Thank you, Gabby. You're the nicest person I've ever met. I've never really had a real friend before."

"Well you're a great guy too Tim." Gabriella said as they made their ways to their lockers. "Got any good plans for the weekend?"

"No, not really. You?"

"Um, I'm going to my first drive-in tomorrow with some of my friends. So that should be fun."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. I haven't been to a drive-in in years."

Gabriella felt guilty wondering if she should invite Tim along too. She then decided against it, knowing that she really just wanted to spend time with her closest friends, and especially Troy.

"Well, have a good weekend Tim!" She called as she got her last book out of her locker and walked down the hall.

"Yep! I'll be seeing you Gabby!"

* * *

Gabriella walked out onto the sidewalk in front of East High and sighed as she began to walk down the sidewalk. She was startled when she heard a car pull up beside her, followed by a familiar voice. 

"Care for a ride?"

Gabriella turned on her heel to face the car.

"Troy! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood, and saw you walking." He said sarcastically with a wide grin.

"Troy Bolton! Did you wait on me?"

"Of course I did. Riding home isn't the same without you Brie. Now get in the car! How does ice cream sound?"

Gabriella laughed and got in. "That sounds great."

She buckled her seat belt and smiled over at Troy.

They chatted about the rest of their days, and especially about Gabriella's rough time trying to tutor Tim.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of Shiner's Ice Cream Shoppe. Gabriella looked up at the unfamiliar old fashioned building.

"I've never been here before."

"Well, this is the best ice cream place in the entire world. Trust me, it's amazing." Troy said getting out of the car.

The two stood in line for several minutes while they chose their ice cream.

"I don't know what to get! It all looks so good." Gabriella sighed,

"Do you want me to order for you?" Troy asked, receiving a nod from Gabriella.

"Okay." Troy said turning to the server. "We would like two scoops each in a cup of the black raspberry chip."

As the young man behind the counter began to scoop their ice cream, Troy got out his wallet.

"Troy, please let me pay." Gabriella begged. "You already drive me around practically everywhere."

"First off, it was my idea to get ice cream so I'm going to pay. Second, the passenger seat in my car is labeled especially for the Gabriella Montez. Chad isn't even allowed to sit in it. It'd be a waste if you didn't ride in it. So go, find us a seat and I'll bring us the ice cream." Troy said, smiling so sweetly it made Gabriella's stomach do flip flops. She found her way to a booth and waited for Troy.

She sat there completely confused. Her and Troy did everything together, and acted as if they were a couple. They had several close calls kisses, and had plenty of moments where they were definitely closer than friends should be. But Troy had still not asked her out. Did he really even like her, or was he just playing with her? Gabriella wasn't really sure she could handle that. Everyday she was falling more and more in love with Troy Bolton.

She was shaken from her thoughts as Troy sat down next to her and slid the cup of ice cream over to her.

"You okay?" He asked, noticing the far off look in her eyes.

"Yeah. Just thinking I guess."

"Anything in particular?"

"Not really anything worth talking about. So, how are you Troy?"

"Now that I've got this ice cream I'm great!" He laughed.

"No, I mean. In life? We've been so busy with this musical I haven't even stopped to ask how you were."

"Oh." Troy said, his expression slightly more serious. Should he tell her how he felt? How everyday he woke up knowing that something was missing from his life? That he couldn't be near he without his breath catching and his heart rate speeding up?

"I guess it's okay."

"Just okay?"

'Alright this is it Troy. Just do it.' Troy mentally coached himself.

"Brie, I need to tell you something." He said looking her straight in the eyes.

"Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella said, suddenly worried.

"I've never been better Brie. Every single day just gets better and better and I know there's only one reason. Everyday I wake up and there's one thing I look forward to, and there's only one thing on my mind at night. I've met this girl, and she's completely stolen my heart. Everything I do, it's for her. I'm doing everything I can to be this perfect guy just so I can try and be the guy that she deserves. I'm completely mesmerized by everything she does. When I hug her or get close to her, I feel like there's no way I could ever get as close as I wanted, no matter how tight I held on. I can't even explain it Brie. I'm a mess!" He laughed.

"I can see that." Gabriella tried to laugh. "She seems amazing Troy. I say go for it."

Troy realized that Gabriella had no idea who he was talking about. "You sure Brie? Your opinion means everything to me."

"Yeah, Troy. If she means this much, then go tell her how you feel." Gabriella still hadn't looked up since he started talking about this 'mystery girl.'

"Okay." Troy said, then paused for a moment. "I think I'm in love with you Gabriella Anne Montez."

Immediately, Gabriella's head shot up. "What?" She gasped.

"Scratch that. I know I'm in love with you, and I really don't know what's taken me this long to tell you. I just hope you feel the same way."

Troy was surprised by two lips crashing on his own. As their lips parted, he kept his forehead attached to hers.

"I love you Troy. So much." Gabriella said smiling.

Troy leaned in to kiss her again, this time less rushed, so perfect it sent shivers down each of their spines.

"Now, I told you you'd love this ice cream shop." Troy laughed as they pulled apart, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

"I love this place!" Gabriella shouted, causing others to look at her. They both laughed, and Gabriella laid her head on Troy's shoulder, trying to get as close to him as she possibly could.


	9. Somebody's Watching Me

_okay, so this took forever to get up. but i've been on a roll lately updating, so i should get more chapters up. i hope you enjoy this. it's on the shorter side i guess, but's still an important chapter. i'lll probably have the next update sunday night. review!_

* * *

**Against All Odds**

_Somebody's Watching Me_

Gabriella stood in front of her mirror, holding up to different outfits in front of her. The first was a striped teal baby doll dress. It was fun and summery, and fit Gabriella perfectly. She had also pulled out a pair of jeans, and a dark blue halter top.

"Having troubles?" her mother said, standing in the doorway.

"Yes. I don't know what to wear."

Isabella looked at the two choices she had picked out and thought for a moment."Well the first thing you should put into mind is that you're going to a drive-in. It gets chilly at night, so perhaps the jeans are a smarter choice."

"But what about the shirt then?"

"I think the shirt is a little too dressy for the drive-ins." Isabella said laughing.

"But I want to look great. This is my first date with Troy."

"Gabriella, this isn't the first time you've been out with Troy. You guys have gone out plenty of times. You could wear a brown sack and he'd think you're beautiful."

"You're just saying that because you're my mom."

"No, I'm saying that because the boy looks at you as if you were the only woman he had ever seen. Which we know isn't true. Trust me on this Gabby. Mind if a pull out a third choice?"

"Sure." Gabriella responded. She watched as her mother walked into her closet, emerging several minutes later with a yellow zip up hoodie and a blue racer back tank.

"I think you should wear this. It's cute, you'll be comfortable, and warm."

"But-"

"No buts. You'll thank me later." Isabella said smiling, handing Gabriella the two shirts and walked out of the room.

Gabriella looked at the outfit her mom had picked out. _She's totally right. How is she always right?_

* * *

Troy showed up at Gabriella's house around six thirty, and just as he had said, Taylor and Chad showed up at seven. Gabriella sent her mom a silent 'thank you' when she saw Taylor in her jeans and pullover hoodie.

The four piled into Troy's car and headed over to Susie Q's, a local diner. They were met by the rest of their gang: Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan, Jason and Kelsi., and all nine squeezed into a round corner booth.

An hour later, they had finished up their meals and were on to their desserts.

"So Gabriella. How did the tutoring with the weird kid go?" Sharpay asked, drinking her milkshake.

"His name is Tim, Sharpay. He's really nice. And it's going fine." She said and leaned into Troy who put his arm around her.

Sharpay nodded, going back to her milkshake before she shot her head back up, eyes wide. She pointed at Gabriella and gasped.

"You!"

Gabriella looked at her oddly. "Me."

"No!!" Sharpay said dramatically. "You! And-and-and you!" She said pointing over to Troy.

The group looked from Troy to Gabriella and then back at Sharpay. Finally, Taylor caught on to what she was trying to say.

"You guys are totally dating aren't you?"

Gabriella just smiled and Troy laughed. "We've been sitting here holding hands the entire meal, and you just _now_ caught on to that?"

"Gabriella Montez. You have some explaining to do." Sharpay said.

"Sorry, Shar." She heard a cough across the table. "And Taylor. I guess I forgot to tell you guys."

"I totally knew." Chad said, gloating. "I have a sixth sense about these things."

"Oh, shut up Chad. You were more in the dark than the rest of us." Taylor said. Chad leaned back in his seat and pouted.

Gabriella looked down at her watch. "We'd better get going, or we're going to be late."

The gang gathered up their things and walked out to the cars. Gabriella waited as Taylor and Chad crawled into the back of Troy's car when she realized she had left her purse inside. "Hey, I left my purse inside. I'll be right back."

She walked back inside and to the booth. She grabbed her purse and looked around the store. It looked completely bare now that they had left. Besides the employees and a boy in a black hoodie in the far corner, it was completely deserted. Gabriella wasn't quite sure why she noticed this, but turned and quickly walked back outside and jumped into Troy's car.

* * *

Gabriella was extremely excited as they pulled into the drive-in. This was one of those things that everyone talks about and wants to do, and now she finally was getting the chance to. She knew it was silly, but going to the drive-ins was like going to the beach. It would always be one of those timeless things.

She watched as Troy paid to get in and she reached over to change the radio station as the attendant had told them to do.

"So what movies are playing tonight?" Chad asked from the back seat.

"Prom Night and 21." Gabriella answered.

Troy pulled the car into a spot in the middle of the lot, Zeke and Jason pulling their trucks up on either side. Gabriella, Troy, Chad and Taylor got out of his car, pulling out blankets and pillows.

"I really cannot believe you put a love seat in the back of your truck, Zeke." Gabriella said.

"It's the best seat in the house." Zeke said hopping up on the tailgate of his truck and stretching back on the couch. Sharpay crawled up there with him, leaning on his shoulder.

Gabriella looked over a Jason's truck. He, Kelsi and Ryan were setting up folding chairs in the back of his truck as well. Taylor and Chad rolled out a blanket on what was left on the bed of Zeke's truck, sitting on the edge of the tailgate. Looking back at Troy's car, Gabriella got an idea. She took her blanket and stretched it out over the hood of the car, arranging the few pillows she did have to create a back rest. Troy watched and caught on, doing the same with his pillows. He slid up on top of his hood, pulling Gabriella up with him.

"I beg to differ, Zeke." Gabriella leaned into Troy's side. "_This _is the best seat in the house."

She giggled, and Troy leaned in to kiss the side of her head.

Several minutes later the sun had gone down, and the first movie began to play.

* * *

Gabriella sat up and stretched as the movie credits began to roll.

"Wanna go get some popcorn?" Troy asked, taking her hand.

"And some gummy worms?" She said, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"And some gummy worms. Hey guys," he called to his friends. "Me and Brie are going to get some snacks and stuff. You guys want anything?"

"Mountain Dew."

"Reese Pieces."

"Sour Patch Kids."

"Popcorn."

"Licorice."

"Diet Coke."

"Right..." Troy said, trying to make a mental note of what they had all just said. He and Gabriella walked to the concession stand.

"Hey, I'm going to go to the restroom." Troy said. "You wanna get a place in line?"

Gabriella nodded, giving Troy a kiss before walking over to the line. She looked around at all the people in the little building. It was really bright in there, contrasting with the night outside. There was a lot of people crammed in there. At the far end, there was an arcade, and two doors at each side. Gabriella stepped forward as the line progressed. She looked back at the arcade when she noticed someone standing alone in a black hoodie. _Wait a second..._

She felt two arms wrap around her waist and Gabriella jumped, turning to see Troy standing there.

"Whoah... movie make you a little jumpy?" He asked, laughing.

"Yeah, I guess it did." She said, forcing a smile. She looked back, but the kid was gone. _I think my mind is playing tricks on me. No more scary movies Gabriella. _

She leaned into Troy's side as they waited to reach the counter.

* * *

Troy dropped Gabriella off late that night. She kissed him goodbye several times before walking up to her house. She stepped inside, locked the door behind her, and walked upstairs. She went straight to her mother's room, cracking the door open.

"Hey Mom." She whispered. She heard her mother stir and sit up. "I just wanted you to know I made it home okay."

"Oh, thank you. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah." Gabriella responded. "It was a blast. But I'm going to bed now. Goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight Gabby. Love you."

"Love you too."

Gabriella closed the door and went to her own room. She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. A few minutes later, a text message beeped in. She reached over to her bedside stand and opened the phone.

_Just letting you  
__know I made it home.  
__I had a great time tonight.  
__Sleep well, Brie.  
__I love you.  
__-Troy._

Gabriella smiled and responded. She put her phone back on the bedside stand and laid down to go to sleep.

* * *

Gabriella was awoken by the sound of her cell ringing. She sat up and looked at the clock. 3:45 am._ Who could be calling me now?_ She reached over and looked at the phone. _Restricted Number._ She open the phone and answered.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

She listened for several more minutes before hanging up the phone. _That's weird. _She reached over to put the phone back on the stand when it started ringing. _Restricted Number._

She answered the phone again, only to be met by silence. She hung up the phone and dialed Troy's cell phone number.

It rang several times before she heard a groggy Troy answer. "Brie? Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was just seeing if you were trying to call me a few minutes ago. I got this call from a restricted number and thought maybe it was your house line. It usually comes up that way."

"No, I didn't call you. I was asleep."

"Oh." Gabriella said. "I'm sure it was just a wrong number or something then."

"Yeah. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. It just scared me and woke me up. That's all. I'm going back to bed. Sorry I woke you up too."

"Hey, it's no problem. I'll talk to you in the morning. Sleep well, okay?"

"You too, Troy. Good night."

"Goodnight Brie. I love you."

"I love you too." She hung up the phone and leaned back to get some sleep.

But sleep never came.

_right... so there you are. let me know what you think. i know the drive in scene is absolutely ridiculous, but my family always brings couches and mattresses to the drive ins. we're crazy like that. so anyways. go and review your heart out!_

* * *


	10. Caring Is Creepy

_okay, so i know this chapter is short. but i need it to be there, and to end where it did. so enjoy and please review :)_

* * *

**Against All Odds**

_Caring Is Creepy_

For the next week Gabriella spent Monday through Thursday at the school from morning til night. The practice for the musical had frown more intense as the show quickly creeped up. Gabriella didn't mind being there though, she wanted to get as much practice in the next two weeks that she could, and having Troy there was only an added bonus.

Troy had picked up the role of entertaining everyone during the long hours of practice. One night, he came out for the scene with a gorilla mask on his head, making it almost impossible for Gabriella to keep a straight face. The next day he and Ryan switched clothes, and Gabriella burst out laughing a she watched Troy dance around on stage in Ryan's eccentric shirt and weird hat. Spending all this time with him, Gabriella knew she loved Troy more than anything, and she couldn't think of a time where she was happier.

Friday rolled around and Gabriella once again had to stay at the school to tutor Tim. She wasn't exactly looking forward to it either. It wasn't that she minded helping him, or that she didn't like him, she just had had an extremely busy week and wanted nothing but to go home, relax and watch movies with Troy.

She dragged her body to library, slunking herself downing into one of the chairs.

"Hi Gabby!" She heard an excited voice behind her. She turned and saw Tim approaching her.

"Hey Tim. How ya doing?'

"Oh, I'm doing okay. It's finally Friday."

"You can say that again." Gabriella said chuckling.

They worked for almost two hours, having as little success as the previous time. Gabriella got to a point where her brain was so bogged down she had to stop.

After she and Tim said goodbye and separated ways, Gabriella went to her locker to gather up her stuff. As soon as she opened the door, a note fluttered down. She reached down and immediately recognized the handwriting as Troy's.

_Hey there beautiful, _

_I'm down in the gym, so _

_come find me when you finish._

_-Troy_

Gabriella smiled and closed her door before walking towards the gym. She could hear the sounds of running, dribbling and shooting as she approached the double doors. She quietly stepped in, and looked in. There Troy was in all his glory: white cut off, blue gym shorts, running around the gym shooting baskets. These were some of the little things Gabriella had always loved about her and Troy. She loved to sit and watch him play basketball. She knew how much he loved the game. She loved it when he would sit and play video games and she would read her latest, greatest book. They could sti for hours in complete silence or talk to each until their tongues turned blue. They had this sense of comfort that she wouldn't give up for anything. She sat down on the bleachers, finally being noticed by Troy.

"Hey! Freaky Math Girl!" He said panting, chuckling a little bit.

"You think you're funny don't you?" She said crossing her arms, trying to act mad.

"Ah, I know I'm funny." He said putting two of his hands on the seat in front of her, leaning in to give her a kiss. "But I love you."

Gabriella leaned to kiss him again. "Oh, I guess I love you too."

"You guess? Well that is just not acceptable." In one swift motion Troy picked Gabriella up and carried her over his shoulder so that she was staring straight at the ground. Gabriella broke out into a fit of laughter.

"This is so unfair."

"Say I love you."

"I love you."

"Nope. I don't think I heard that." Troy began spinning around, causing Gabriella's hair to go everywhere.

"Ahhhh!!" She screamed. "I love you Troy!!"

Troy stopped and allowed Gabriella to slide down so she nose to nose with him, her voice still echoing through the gym.

"And I love you." He said in a whisper that made Gabriella's throat hitch. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him for a kiss. As they pulled away, Troy slipped his arm around her back and they began to walk out of the gym.

"So how did the tutoring go?"

Gabriella groaned. "He just doesn't get it. I'll probably be tutoring him until I'm eighty before he gets this."

Troy laughed. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"You have no idea. It's horrible."

"Well, I think you're doing a great thing for Tim. I can't think of anyone better than you to help him."

"Thanks Troy."

* * *

A week later, Gabriella and Taylor stood in Chemistry working diligently on a lab.

"So you ready for tomorrow?" Taylor asked, staring at a beaker with a bright blue liquid.

"Actually. I think I am. I'm just so nervous." Gabriella said, stirring the solution.

"You're going to do great, Gabs. I just know it. Besides you'll be up there with Troy."

"Yeah. I'm excited about that. He's been doing so good in practice. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised."

"Chad's so excited." Taylor laughed. "He bought tickets for the front row last week when they went on sale."

Gabriella laughed. "Well I'm glad you guys will be there."

"We wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Thanks Tay. I'm going to run to my locker real quickly. I left the question sheet in there. You got this?" She said motioning to the beaker.

"Yeah. No problem."

Gabriella quickly went asked for the hall pass, and walked out into the hall. As she turned one of the corners on her route, she bumped in to someone causing papers to fly everywhere. She immediately began to gather them back up. She looked up and saw it was Tim she bumped into.

"Well hey Tim."

"Hi Gabby. Sorry I bumped into you."

"Oh, it's no problem. Let me help you gather up these papers." Gabriella gathered up the rest of the papers, noticing they were drawings. She looked down at the one on top of the pile. It had the most incredible detail but the drawing scared her. It was one of the most disturbed things she had ever seen.

"You draw really well." Gabriella said, not sure of what else she should say about it.

"Oh, thank you. No one really knows I draw."

"Well, you definitely have an artistic talent." She said pausing for a moment. "I'd better get going before I miss too much of class."

"Okay, well it was nice bumping into you. I'll see you tomorrow after school."

Gabriella looked at the hope in his eyes and felt horrible. "Oh Tim. I forgot to tell you. I have the musical tomorrow so I won't be able to help you."

Tim's expression grew angry. "But what about the tutoring. You said you'd be there."

Gabriella, a little scared, stepped back. "How about Monday after school? I know the Spanish Club uses the library so we could go somewhere outside of school."

"How about my house? I told my mom about the project and how you were tutoring me and she said she would love to meet you."

"Uh, well that works. I'll find you after school on Monday then. Sound good"

"Sounds great. See you later."

"Bye Tim. Don't forget to come to the musical."

Gabriella quickly walked away. What she just saw in Tim scared her, but she knew Tim was normally a nice guy. But why did she agree to go to Tim's house?

* * *

"Well if it wasn't my beautiful girlfriend." Troy said catching up with Gabriella in the hall after school. Gabriella smiled at him, and put her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the auditorium.

"What's wrong Brie?" Troy stopped and turned to look at her. She quickly explained the incident with Tim in the hallway; the drawings, him getting upset, and her agreeing to go to his house to tutor him.

"I just don't want to go Troy. It was really uncomfortable."

"Then don't go."

"I can't just not go. He needs my help."

"Gabriella, you're going an honorable thing by trying to help him. But you have to think of yourself too."

"You're right. I just don't want to let him down. I feel like I'm the only friend he has."

"You'll figure it out Brie. Don't worry."

They walked into the auditorium to begin their very last practice.


	11. Makes Me Wonder

**Against All Odds**

_Makes Me Wonder_

Gabriella stood backstage, nervously wringing her hands together. She had just gotten out of the make-up room, and knew that the show would be starting in less than a half hour. She slowly pulled back the curtains and looked out to see that the auditorium was already filling up fast. Sure enough, she saw Taylor, Chad and the rest of the gang sitting in the front row. She let out a sharp breath and walked to the dressing room. She plopped herself down on the couch.

"Hey there pretty girl." She smiled as she heard a familiar voice from the doorway. She turned and made contact with her favorite pair of electric blue eyes.

"Hey yourself. You ready for this?"

"I guess." He said shrugging his shoulders.

Gabriella chuckled. "You're not even nervous are you?"

"Yeah, I am. I just know I'll be up there with you making me look good doing routines we've practiced a hundred times."

Gabriella knew he was right. They had practiced these routines a lot and she could probably do them in her sleep.

They saw Miss Darbus run by frantically, causing both of them break out in laughter.

"I have a gift for you." Troy said reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small black box. He handed it to Gabriella who looked up at him with surprised eyes.

"What is it?"

Troy laughed. "Just open it."

Gabriella looked at the black box again, and slid off it's top. Inside lay as simple silver charm bracelet. She pulled it out looking at the few charms attached to the bracelet.

"I probably could have bought a hundred more charms, but I wanted to make it so that you could fill it yourself. I got the book because you're my freaky math girl. The basketball to remind you of me. The box of crayons because being with you is like kindergarten. The music note because of the connection we both have through music that brought us together. And the heart, well, because my heart belongs to you." He said, nervously all in one quick breath.

"I love it Troy. I'm glad that I can add things to it as time goes by. Thank you so much." She leaned over to kiss him, lingering there for several moments before pulling away.

"Thank you." She said again.

"You are definitely welcome Brie." Troy said, standing up. "I'd better get going before Darbus has a heart attack 'cause she can't find me."

Gabriella smiled. "Good luck Troy."

"You too, Brie. You're going to do great." He smiled at her and with that he was gone again.

Gabriella looked down at the bracelet, securing it on her arm. She smiled. It was perfect. She looked back at the tiny basketball pendant. _He_ was perfect.

* * *

_"You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are. "_

Troy and Gabriella watched as the curtains fell in front of them, closing them off from the audience.

Gabriella breathed in heavily as she reached for Troy's hands to do the curtain call. The curtains slid open and the two of them stepped forward and took a bow. They both looked up to see the entire auditorium was on it's feet in applause.

Gabriella looked over at Troy, who met her gaze, and smiled. "We did it Troy."

He smile his infamous Troy Bolton smile before they both turned back to the audience. They both looked down to see Chad and Taylor standing at the edge of the stage. They walked over to them, and each were handed a bouquet of flowers. They both smiled thanks down at their friends before stepping back further on the stage. The entire cast came back out, including Sharpay and Ryan who were cast in supporting roles, and did a bow.

* * *

"Congratulations ladies and gentlemen!" Miss Darbus said from her place atop a chair. They were back in one of the dressing rooms and she was addressing the entire cast before everyone left for the after party. "You just gave a flawless performance!"

The room burst out into whoops and hollers as everyone celebrated the show. Miss Darbus stepped off of the chair and left the room, several people following as she did so.

Troy and Gabriella both stood up from the couch they were both sitting on. Troy reached for Gabriella's arm, turning her to face him.

"That was so much fun." He said with a wide grin on his face.

"It really was." She replied smiling back up at him.

They leaned in for a kiss, each not wanting to pull away from the other.

"I love you Gabriella." Troy said as they finally pulled apart. "So much."

"I love you too, Troy."

He smiled back at her as he reached her hand and led her outside to his car. They both got inside and Troy pulled out and headed for the after party.

* * *

Three days later, Gabriella was still full of smiles. The next two days of the show went as perfectly as the first night had been, and it had been one of the greatest experiences of Gabriella's life.

She strolled into East High Monday morning hand in hand with the guy she loved more than anything and Gabriella knew that nothing could bring her down.

She gave him a kiss before they parted ways and each made their way to their lockers.

Gabriella put in the combo for her locker and smiled as she was greeted with a picture of her and Troy on the wall of her locker door. She then looked in and saw a black box sitting on the ledge of the shelf inside the locker. She reached for it and slowly opened the note on top.

_You were amazing this weekend. Thought you deserved these.  
XOXOXO_

Gabriella smiled at the printed words and looked down in the box to find two more charms: a microphone and an angel with her birthstone in it. She realized what the microphone was for, but the angel confused her. She figured she would ask Troy when she saw him before class.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen." Chad said dramatically as Troy and Gabriella entered their homeroom class. "The King and Queen of East High."

Chad rolled his hand and took a bow, causing people in the class to laugh. Gabriella and Troy also laughed as they took their seats.

"Very funny Chad." Troy said looking back at his friend. He then turned back to Gabriella at the back of the class and winked at her.

Miss Darbus then entered the room, causing everyone to silence and rush to their seats. Everyone sat still as she went on and on about the musical's success. Ten minutes later, the bell dismissing them from home room rang and the class rushed out the door.

Troy waited outside for Gabriella, quickly walking to meet up with her as she stepped out of the class. Their fingers laced together as they walked down the hallway.

"Oh!" Gabriella exclaimed looking over at him. "I almost forgot. Thank you for the new charms. I love them."

Troy looked at her with a confused look. "What charms?"

"These ones." Gabriella said holding up her wrist and pointing to the two newly added charms.

"But I didn't get you those ones." Troy said quietly, looking at the new additions to her bracelet.

"Troy don't be silly. They were in a box in my locker. You're the only person who knows the combination. I know it was you."

Troy stopped and looked at her seriously. "Brie. It wasn't me. I didn't put those in lour locker."

Gabriella's expression fell as she looked down at the two charms. "Then who did?"

* * *

_review!_


	12. A Change Will Do You Good

**Against All Odds**

_A Change Will Do You Good_

Gabriella couldn't stop smiling – throughout the entire day students and faculty had been coming up to her and Troy telling them how awesome the musical had been. It was amazing to know all of her peers enjoyed watching the show just as much as she enjoyed being in it.

She waited as Ms. Darbus finished off the day's lesson and watched the clock count down the minutes til the day was through. As much as she loved school, she was on too much of a high today to waste time in class.

The bell finally rang, and the students all rushed out of the room and made their ways to their lockers. Gabriella smiled over at Troy before they parted ways and went to their own lockers. Gabriella put her books into her locker, double checked to make sure she had no homework, and closed the locker door. She jumped about four feet in the air when she saw Tim was standing on the other side of her locker door.

"H-h-hey Tim. You scared me!" Gabriella said trying to smile. It seemed more and more that she felt awkward or scared around him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gabby. You ready to go? The buses are going to leave soon."

Gabriella looked over at him and felt horrible. Today was the day she was supposed to help Tim at his house, and she completely forgot. "Well, uh."

"You forgot." Tim said with downcast eyes after seeing the expression on her face and hearing the tone in her voice.

"I'm sorry Tim. It's just with the musical and everything it slipped my mind. But I'm sure I can change my plans so we can still work together. And I'm sure Troy would drive us over." Gabriella said. She hated imposing that on Troy, but buses scared her more than Tim did.

"Fine." Tim said with a flat voice. "Go find him and figure it out."

"Hey guys." Troy said walking up to the two of them and putting his arm around Gabriella.

"Wow. That was hard." Tim muttered rolling his eyes.

"Troy, do you think you could drive me and Tim over to his house? I forgot we had something planned today. I know we had plans, but we could maybe go the movies later?" She said meekly.

"Hey, it's no big deal. We could always go another day. I mean we've already seen the first three Indiana Jones movies, how different will the fourth be?" He said sarcastically.

Gabriella laughed at him causing Tim to gag. He hated Troy Bolton. How could one person be so freaking perfect? He was clearly attractive, or else every girl in the school wouldn't follow him around like lost puppies. He was really talented, but not just in basketball but in music as well. He was incredibly smart. But what Tim hated the most was that he was a generally nice guy. He always had been. Even before the status quo changed, Troy was never the one to harass or make fun of other people. It was a no brainer that Gabriella would fall for him. She would never want to be with someone like Tim.

But then Tim thought a little more about that. She had just canceled her plans with Troy for him. And why did she keep tutoring him if she was so in love with Troy? He knew that she knew he didn't need help with math. He had always been a straight A student in math class. Why else would he keep making the same mistakes over and over? After thinking about it some more, Tim knew that Gabriella only tutored him because she did indeed want to be with him. She just didn't want to upset Troy or disappoint East High. Troy and Gabriella were the Golden Couple of the school. It would crush all of their peers. So Tim followed Gabriella and Troy out to his car, smiling the entire way. He got in the back seat and ignored the fact that two in the front seats were holding hands. He stared out the window and felt like the sky just got a little bluer. Gabriella wanted to be with _him. _

He directed them to his house, and both he and Gabriella got out of the car. Gabriella walked over and kissed Troy goodbye before they made their way into the house.

Immediately walking into Tim's house, Gabriella smelled something delicious and felt her stomach grow. Tim laughed at her, and motioned for her to follow him down a hallway leading to the kitchen. There Gabriella saw a middle aged woman in an apron, putting cookies on a wire rack to cool.

"Hey Mom." Tim said, causing the woman to smile and turn around.

"Hi Tim. How was school today?"

"It was good."

The woman smiled and looked over to Gabriella. "And you must be Gabriella. I've heard so much about you. I'm Marissa, Tim's mother. I'm so glad I could finally get to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Gabriella said smiling. On the inside she was completely confused. Either Tim's mother was just a really cheery person, or Tim had led her to believe that she was more than just a tutor.

"Alright, well we're going to go up my room Mom. We'll be back down later."

"Okay, well you two have fun. And Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"You know the rules. Leave the door open."

"Mom!" Tim hissed before storming out of the room being followed by closely by Gabriella.

Gabriella knew her questions had been answered with that statement. Tim had definitely told his mother there was more than just tutoring going on. But why would he do that?

They went up to his room where Gabriella was met with walls of Tim's drawings and heavy metal bands. She sat down at his computer, and the two began to work.

* * *

Almost two hours later, they were still working on the same set of problems, and Gabriella couldn't figure out why he was making the same mistakes every time.

"Hey Tim, may I use the restroom?"

"Yeah, it's downstairs through the kitchen and to the right."

"Okay, thanks. I'll be back. Just keep working on those questions."

Gabriella made her way out of the room and back down the stairs towards the bathroom. She didn't really have to go, but she just needed out. She walked into the kitchen and saw Marissa sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee.

"Oh hey Gabriella. You guys having fun up there?"

"Yeah, we are." Gabriella lied.

"That's good. I'm so glad you came over today. Tim never has very many friends over."

"Well, I don't see why not. Tim is such a nice guy."

"I never really got it either. But I'm glad you're with him. I can tell you're a really sweet person, and I just know you'll make a change for the better in my Tim."

"Well, like I said. Tim's really sweet, so it's not hard to be friends with him." She smiled at Marissa, wanting to make sure the "friends" word got out there. She wasn't sure exactly what Tim had told her, but she wanted to clear that up quickly. She excused herself to the bathroom where she stared at herself in the mirror. What did Marissa mean about bringing out the better in Tim? Tim was an overall nice guy, even if he was a little awkward sometimes. But then Gabriella thought of the drawings she saw that day in the hallway, and the drawings that adorned Tim's walls. Surely, Marissa had seen them too, and maybe that's what concerned her.

Gabriella let these thoughts swirl around her head as she made her way upstairs and gave Tim yet another set of questions.

* * *

Another two hours had passed and Gabriella stood in the kitchen with Marissa and Tim waiting on Troy to pick her up. They were eating the cookies that Marissa had baked earlier, and Gabriella was more than thankful for that. She was starving.

She felt her pocket buzz, and pulled out her phone to see a text from Troy.

"Well, that's my ride. Thank you very much for the cookies, Marissa. It was really nice meeting you."

"You as well, Gabriella. Please come back soon."

Gabriella smiled at her, and then looked over at Tim. "I'll see you at school tomorrow Tim."

She then made her way out to Troy's car.

"Rough time?" Troy said looking over at Gabriella's expression as she got in the car.

"Four hours! Four hours and he is still making the same mistakes. I must be a horrible tutor."

"Brie, you know that's not true."

"Then why isn't he getting it? I don't understand."

"I don't either. But just keep in your mind that you're doing a really good thing for him."

"I know, I know. It's just so frustrating. But enough of that. Let's talk about something else."

"You want to go grab something to eat? I don't know if you ate or not, but I'm hungry."

"Oh, that would be awesome Troy. I've only had like, three cookies, maybe. You can even pick where we eat." She said quickly.

Troy laughed at her. "Okay, sounds good."

* * *

The next day, they sat at their lunch table making plans for spring break with all of their friends.

"Okay, so there's this great water park downtown. It has like lodge style hotel rooms and we could all stay in one. It has like six queen sized beds plus a couch. I went there with my family once. It's really cool." Taylor explained while peeling the banana in her hand.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. But I still think we should go to New York City. It's so much fun, and the shopping... just incredible." Sharpay said in her usual dramatic tone.

Everyone laughed at her. "None of us have the money for that Shar." Gabriella said. "But maybe-"

"Hey Gabby." She heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned around to see Tim standing behind her.

"Oh. Hey Tim. What's up?"

"Uh, can I talk to you?"

Gabriella looked back at her friends who were all giving her the same weird look then back at Tim. "Sure Tim."

She got up and followed him out of the cafeteria.

"Okay, he really creeps me out." Sharpay said receiving comments of agreement.

* * *

Once they were out alone in the foyer, Tim stopped walking.

"What's up Tim?"

"I was wondering if you could come over again today. To help me study of course."

For some reason, Gabriella knew this was coming. "I'm sorry Tim I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I have plans."

"With Troy?"

"Yes, with Troy. And my friends too."

"What? Am I not your friend Gabby? You never spend time with me!" Tim screamed, his voice bellowing through the hallway.

Gabriella stepped back in fear. "Tim, I'm really sorry. You are my friend. I just made plans with them."

"But what about my studying? I need help! What about my Mom? She expects you to come over again! Gabby you can't just do this to me!"

Gabriella opened her mouth to respond but Tim kept yelling at her.

"You have to come over Gabriella. You have to!"

"Tim, I don't think I should tutor you anymore." Gabriella said with a weak voice.

"What? No! You have to, I'm getting so much better with you."

"But you're not Tim. There are great tutors in the student center. I'm sure that one of them can help-"

Gabriella stopped when she felt Tim's lips crash down upon her own. She pushed him off and looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Tim. I love Troy. I uh, I-I'm sorry if I led you on. But I can't do that. I'm so so sorry."

She ran off back into the cafeteria before anything else could be said. Tim punched the wall next to him and heard laughing coming from down the hall. He looked up and saw Zane leaning against one of the lockers, laughing.

"Wow, that was really something."

"Shut the hell up, Zane."

"I have a better idea."

"Whatever. Why are you even here? I heard you dropped out?"

Zane walked up to him and put his hands around Tim's throat. "Hardly. Even after Superstar and Pigtails' performance, I still failed Darbus' class. What was the point in coming back? So anyways, you want to get Pigtails for you and only you?" Zane released Tim, shoving him in the process.

Tim paused and looked up at Zane.

"Well?"

"I'm listening aren't I?"

"Alright, we'll just have to show her another side of Tim Smith. And don't worry, I'll help you."

* * *

_yep, zane's back. not good at all. please review!!_


	13. My Father's Gun Pt One

**_OKAY so this is a warning i guess. this chapter's pretty intense. other than that, when i originally wrote it it was like twenty pages typed, so i broke it up into three chapters. i know it's a pain in the butt, so i'm sorry. but please review ??_

* * *

**

Against All Odds

_My Father's Gun (Part One)_

Gabriella woke up and noticed it was still dark outside. She looked over at the clock and groaned when she noticed when it was only three o'clock. She lay back down, hoping to get at least a few more hours of sleep. She didn't usually wake up on school days until six or so.

She laid there for several minutes, praying that sleep would come. She knew she was one of those people that needed their sleep, or it wasn't pretty. As she lay there, she could feel her heart pounding and her hands growing clammy. She couldn't figure out why, but she felt incredibly scared.

She lay there trying to figure out why she was scared. The play was well over with, school was almost over with, and she and Troy were doing really, really well. Spring Break was only a week away and she knew that she was more than excited for that. She hadn't had any others awkward moments with Tim since that day he blew up on her, and that was almost a month ago. She had quit tutoring him, and the two almost never saw each other at school. She couldn't figure out what was bothering her.

She looked over at the clock and saw that only fifteen minutes had passed, and she knew that this feeling wasn't going away. She hesitated for a second before picking up her phone and dialing.

"Brie?" She heard a muffled voice answer.

"Troy." Gabriella responded in a weak voice.

"Brie, what's wrong?" Troy said, his voice becoming clear.

"I... don't know, Troy." Gabriella was on the verge of tears. "God, I sound like an idiot. I'm so sorry for waking you up. Go back to sleep."

"Brie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Troy. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so sorry for calling. I don't know what my deal is. I'm so sorry." Gabriella rambled on.

"It's okay, babe. You want to talk for a little bit?"

"No, it's okay. I'll, just see you at school or something. I love you."

"I love you too. But it's really-" Troy stopped when he heard the phone click. He looked down at the phone for several minutes before getting out of bed and getting dresses. He wasn't sure if it was the sound in Gabriella's voice, or the fact that she never gets vulnerable like that, but he was worried.

He quickly gathered up the things he would need for school, and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, knowing Ms. Montez wouldn't mind if he showered there later. After seeing he had everything he needed, he scribbled a note for his parents and made his way out to his car and left.

When he arrived at Gabriella's house, it was a little after three-thirty. He took familiar route to her backyard, and climbed up the tree as quietly as he could. When he finally climbed over the railing he looked into Gabriella's room. It was completely dark, but the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the small huddled body on her bed. She was obviously awake, for she was sitting up and against her backboard with her arms around her knees.

Troy quietly opened the door and saw her head turn towards him. "It's only me."

"Troy?" She asked, her voice still weak and full of tears.

"Brie?" Troy said in a sweet and sympathetic tone as he walked over her bed. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, Troy. I'm so scared." She held back a sob. "I just woke up and felt like something was wrong. You didn't have to come over."

Troy sat down next to her and took her in his arms. "Yeah, I did. You shouldn't ever hesitate to need me Gabriella." He said kissing the side of her head.

"Will you lay with me?"

"Of course I will." Troy lay down on the bed and pulled her next to him. "Everything is going to be okay."

"I hope so. Thank you, Troy."

"For what?" He asked rubbing her arms.

"For being you. I don't know what I'd do otherwise." Gabriella said, her voice finally loosing its weakness and sounding sleepy.

"Get some sleep, pretty girl. I'll be right here when you wake up." Gabriella nodded, allowing sleep to come to her. "I love you Troy,"

"I love you too, Brie." Troy heard the sound of her even breathing and knew she was asleep. He situated himself better on the bed, and pulled her closer to him and fell asleep himself.

Two and a half hours later Gabriella's alarm went off causing both teenagers to wake up. "God, turn it off." Troy said with a gruff voice.

Gabriella giggled and hit the snooze button before turning to face him. "Hi. She whispered, looking up at him through her eyelashes. Troy smiled at her. "Good morning beautiful." Gabriella blushed slightly and smiled. "You're not mad at me?"

"Why on earth would I be mad at you?" Troy said propping himself up with his arm and putting the other arm around her waist.

"For calling and waking you up?"

"I told you. Don't ever be sorry about that. I'm never going to be mad about getting the chance to talk to you or help you out. Especially if it means I get to wake up next to you."

"It's pretty great isn't it?"

"I could definitely get used to it." He said with a smirk and Gabriella laughed at him.

"So what was going on last night? He asked more seriously.

"I don't know. It was so weird Troy. I just felt like something was really, really wrong."

"Hmm. Did you like have a bad dream or something?"

"Not that I know of. It was so strange."

"Well, are you feeling better now?"

"Are you kidding me? I just got the best few hours of sleep I've had in along time. I had this amazing guy next to me last night."

Troy smiled at her, and they both turned their heads at the sound of the door opening.

"Gabriella, it's time to wake- well hello Troy." Isabella said looking at the two teenagers on the bed.

"Morning Bella." Troy said stifling a laugh. He knew she must have been confused.

"You sleep here last night?"

"No, well yes. I came at like three I guess."

"I was scared." Gabriella said quickly.

"Hmm. You must be something special Troy. She used to come to me with that kind of stuff. Not that I'm complaining, I'm the one getting a full eight hours of sleep." She said chuckling before stepping back out of the room. "You two get up and get ready. I'll make some breakfast."

"Sounds good to me." Troy said. He loved Isabella's cooking.

"Thanks mom. We'll be down in a little bit."

Isabella left the room and Gabriella looked back over at Troy.

"Who knew you and my Mom were on a nickname basis now."

"Eh, we're tight like that." Troy said smirking down at her.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. She is right about one thing though."

"And what's that?"

"I am something special."

Gabriella laughed and hit him playfully on the arm. "I'm going to shower, you can get in after me."

She got up and picked up her bath robe before walking into the shower. Troy fell back down and the bed, and closed his eyes as he waited for her to get out of the shower.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand as they made their way into the school that morning. The sun shone brightly down upon them warming their skin and inviting them into a fun and lighthearted day.

"Can you believe we only have a month left until summer break?" She asked as they stood outside of the school.

"Yeah, it's awesome. And don't forget we only have a week until spring break."

"That lodge is going to be so much fun." She said with a wide smile on her face. She heard her phone beep and pulled it out to look at it. "Taylor's already inside. She wants me to meet her in the library to study for exams."

"Sounds good, I'll just meet up with Chad or something." They walked into the building when Gabriella stopped and looked around. Her eyes narrowed and looked behind her before looking back at Troy. She could feel her heart race accelerating again as the same fear that woke her up last night struck her again.

"What's up?" Troy asked with concern.

Gabriella shook her head, shrugging it off. "Nothing. It's nothing. You want to meet up on the roof during free period?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me."

"Alright, cool. I'm probably going to be working with Taylor for our first two periods. The teachers are being pretty lenient since Spring Break is next week, and finals are after that. So if you get a chance, sneak out and come see me." She winked at him.

"I'll try." He laughed. He leaned down and kissed her lips before they both went their separate ways.

Gabriella gave one last look at Troy, not knowing that it could very well be her last.

* * *

Troy sat on one of the benches in the science club garden and looked down at his watch. He knew he was still pretty early, but expected Gabriella to show up any minute. His phone buzzed, signaling a text had come in, and he opened it up to read it.

_running a few mins late,  
__but i 'II be there in five.  
__love you, brie_

Troy smiled at the message and put his phone back in his pocket. Seconds later he heard a loud noise coming from down in the hallway and stood up when he heard two more.

He walked down the stairs deciding to check out whatever the heck it was, and was shocked when he opened the door to the hallway. Students were running down the hallway screaming frantically. He looked to his left and saw someone lying on the ground and swore he saw blood on the floor.

"Oh my God." He said quietly. A large afro running by caught his attention.

"CHAD!" He yelled after his friend, who turned around and walked over to him. Troy pulled Chad into the stairwell and shut the door.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"Dude, someone's got a gun in the school. We have to get out, they're putting it on lock down. We gotta get out man."

Troy nodded at him and they both stepped back out into the hallway and began to run towards the door. Troy caught Chad's attention when he stopped at the door and looked back behind him.

"What are you doing??" Chad half yelled.

"Gabriella's still in the library."

"Troy, you can't go back." Chad said with a stern voice.

"Chad, I can't leave her. What if something happens to her." Troy asked, the fear evident in his voice.

"Troy this is crazy talk. You can't go back."

"Chad, she's with Taylor." Troy reasoned with his best friend. Chad looked away for a moment. Troy clapped his hands together when he saw his friend look back at him and nod his head and the two sprinted back into the school.

* * *

**_okay, so there it is. review and i'll have the next part posted by the end of the week. I PROMISE. wedding's all over, got a new laptop that rocks my socks off, so be expecting updates a lot. also, check out my other HSM stories. i'm working on two other's right now. so go have a look and let me know what you think :)_**


	14. My Father's Gun Pt Two

**Against All Odds**

_My Father's Gun (Part Two)_

"Hey did you hear that?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella looked up and shook her head. "I didn't hear anything."

Taylor burrowed her eyebrows before looking back down at her paper. Two loud noises caught her again and she looked back up.

"But I did hear that." Gabriella said standing up.

"What are you doing?" Taylor hissed.

"I'm going to see what it is."

"Well, I'm going with you." Taylor ran to catch up with her friend, linking arms with her in the process. They both stopped when the school's alarm starting wailing.

"Maybe it's better to stay in here." Gabriella said. Taylor quickly nodded her head. They looked back at the other students in the library who all looked at them with scared faces.

"Everybody get under a table." Gabriella called out. She knew whatever was going on wasn't good.

"And I thought that it was Troy who was the savior." Gabriella heard a voice say from behind her. She turned around and saw Tim standing there with a wild look in his eyes that Gabriella had never seen in him before. An ammunition vest was on his chest and he held a gun in his left hand.

"Tim what are you doing?"

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"

"Tim this isn't you. Don't do this." She said softly, trying to reason with him.

"You don't freaking know me, Gabriella. You've been at this school for what, six months?I've been going here my entire life and people have always treated me like shit!" Tim yelled at her. "I'm only giving these people what they deserve."

"Look, Tim. I know what it's like to be an outcast. This isn't the answer." Gabriella's eyes pleaded with him. She looked at him with scared eyes when he laughed at her.

"You know what it feels like?" He continued to laugh. "You were here maybe two seconds before your special boytoy had his hands on you. You were never an outcast here."

"No, not here. But at other schools I was. And I thought that we had all put that behind us. We're all in this togeth-"

"Shut up. We're not in this together. Don't give me that shit! You just thought it was okay because everyone in your perfect little bubble was okay."

He held up the gun and aimed it at her.

"Tim." Taylor pleaded. "Tim we used to be friends, remember. You were on the decathalon team. You were good. You used to hang out with us."

"Used to Taylor. Damnit! Used to! Then you decided that Chad was more important than all your old friends."

"That's not true." Taylor whispered.

"You can believe what ever you want to believe Taylor." Tim said before looking back at Gabriella. He clicked the safety off and aimed it at her.

"Tim please." Gabriella said softly. "You are so much better than this."

Tim looked at her and lowered his gun. "You're right. So why don't I go find someone who's not. I hope you told Troy you loved him today." He said before walking out of the library.

Gabriella frantically ran after him. "Tim, no. Don't do something stupid. Please, Tim, no. Please. Tim. No. Please."

"Back off Gabriella!" Tim shouted raising the gun up at her.

Gabriella stopped and put her hands up in the air. "Stay here with us Tim. Please don't go after Troy. Please don't hurt anyone else."

Tim just laughed at her. He walked out of the room and roped the doors shut. Gabriella followed him and beat her hands on the windows of the library doors.

"Tim!" She yelled as she watched him walk down the deserted hallway. She broke out into sobs as he kicked open a door and fired into the room before walking down the hallway, laughing the whole time. She continued to pound on the glass window, shaking violently as she sobbed, before she fell to the floor. Taylor rushed over to her side and put her arms around her friend.

"No!" Gabriella cried louder into Taylor's chest.

* * *

Troy and Chad walked down the hall, trying to stay as quiet as possible. They had already looked in the cafeteria and the auditorium, but they hadn't found Gabriella, Taylor, or anyone for that matter. It seemed as though most of the students had luckily made their way out of the building. They had run into one student who had been hit in the leg, and another had a bullet graze his arm. After double and triple checking that both were okay for a little while, they continued on to try and find Gabriella and Taylor, feeling extremely guilty as they did so.

As they walked down the hallway, nightmares flashed through Troy's mind. He was terrified of opening a classroom door and being faced with a gun, or finding a student who been shot or killed. Worst of all, he was terrified of losing Gabriella. His mind kept telling him this way a dream, that this only happened in movies, and he would wake up tomorrow with Gabriella by his side and none of this would have ever happened. But Troy knew this was real. It wasn't some movie, and Gabriella was out there and he _needed _to find her.

"Troy." Chad whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I think there's students in there." Chad said pointing to a math room. "Actually, I think I heard Sharpay in there."

"You sure?"

"There's no one in this entire school that sounds like Sharpay when she's crying."

Troy thought about this and knew Chad was right. He stood for a moment and listened and sure enough he also heard Sharpay's voice. He couldn't make out what she was saying, but it was Sharpay alright.

He pulled the door open slowly and looked over to where a mass of students were huddled together.

"Shar?" He called into the room.

"Troy, is that you?" It wasn't Sharpay who answered, but it was Kelsi. Troy scanned the faces in the huddle, and clenched his hands when he realized Gabriella wasn't in this room. He was glad, however, that his other friends, including Zeke, Sharpay, Kelsi, Jason, Ryan, girlfriend, had all found each other.

Troy and Chad stepped into the room, closing the door behind them.

"Have you guys seen Brie?" He asked no one in particular.

"Or Taylor?" Chad added.

They didn't get a response from anyone in the group, and watched as their eyes grew wide in fear.

"Ah, Superstar. Class is about to start. Why don't you sit down?"

Troy turned and saw Zane standing behind him with a gun aimed at his head.

"Brown?"

"Sit your ass down Bolton. This isn't a movie, you don't get to be the hero. If you don't listen I will pull this trigger,"

Troy and Chad walked over to where the group was all sitting and sat down with the rest of them.

* * *

Gabriella pulled away from Taylor's grip and wiped the tears from her eyes. She stood up, suddenly very angry with herself. There was no way she was going to sit and cry while Troy was still out there. She was stronger than that. She walked over to the librarian's desk and grabbed a stapler and walked back over to the door.

"Gabby?" Taylor questioned her friend.

"Taylor, back up." Gabriella said with thick determination. Taylor took a few steps back but continued to stare at her friend. Gabriella picked up the stapler and slammed it into the window a large crack splitting down the front of it. She hit the window again with more force than before and the glass shattered falling down around her. She didn't notice when a piece sliced the side of her arm and threw the stapler to the side, pulling herself through the now open window.

"Gabby, what are you doing?" Taylor asked.

"I'm not going to sit here and let him do this. Now you can stay and wait for help or come with me. I won't think differently of you either way." She began to walk down the hall when she heard her friend call after her. She stopped and turned to see Taylor pulling herself through the window.

"You really think I'm letting you do this alone?" Taylor half smirked. Gabriella nodded at her friend and the two took off.

As they turned the corner in the hallway, the both heard gunshots behind them and they both instinctively took off running.

Taylor turned another corner in the hall and looked over only to find Gabriella missing. She walked back around the corner and look both ways, not seeing her friend anywhere. Tears welled up in her eyes. "No, please, no." Taylor slid down against the locker and put her head in her hands. It was only seconds later she heard a familiar voice coming from the class room next to her. She listened closely to the voices.

'I know that voice anywhere.' She thought to herself and stood back up and walked into the room.

"Chad?" She called into the dark room. She looked to her left and saw a head of hair she could distinguish anywhere.

"Chad!" She ran over and practically fell into his arms. She looked and saw that all of her other friends were there as well, and when she looked at Troy, he looked back with question in his eyes.

"Troy, I'm so sorry. Oh, I'm so sorry. I was just with her, and I don't know what happened. We were just out in the hallway and she was just gone. I'm sorry, Troy." Taylor turned her face into her boyfriend's chest and sobbed as he wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"As much as I love this reunion, shut up." Zane spat out and Taylor finally noticed he was in the room.

"How many of there are you?" She squeaked out.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked looking over at Taylor.

"He isn't alone. Tim was in the library with us." Taylor debated telling them about what Tim had said in the library, but decided it was better for Troy if she didn't. "He locked us in, but Gabby broke the window out. She's still out there, Troy."

Troy's head fell into his hands as soon as he heard this. He hadn't saved her. She was still out there, and now she was alone.

Zane propped his feet up on the desk and fiddled with the gun in his hands. "So who's it gonna be first?" He asked looking over at the huddled group in the corner. He looked over to Zeke and Sharpay and smirked. "Is it going to be you Princess?"

Sharpay's voice cracked as she let out a sob and buried her face into Zeke's shoulder, who glared up at Zane. Zane simply laughed before looking over at Kelsi. "Or will it be the 'playmaker?' Did I get that one right Troy? I thought that was what you and Gabriella had said."

"How many?" Troy said with a quiet voice ignoring the question as he looked up at Zane.

"What?" Zane shot back at him.

"How many of you are there? How many of you are out there in those hallways shooting innocent people?" Troy said angrily, his voice getting louder by every word. He stood up and walked over to Zane, his friends watch every step he made. "How many?!"

Zane looked at him and rolled his eyes. "Shut the hell up Bolton."

Troy stepped ever closer to Zane. "Why are you doing this?" Troy asked, keeping his voice calmer this time.

He was almost five feet from the desk that Zane was sitting at when Zane pulled up the gun and aimed it at Troy's head. "Take one more step Bolton."

Troy looked over and made eye contact with Chad before looking back at Zane. "Or what Brown, you gonna shoot me?"

Troy stepped even closer to Zane and was now standing in the other corner of the room. Zane swiveled his chair around and stood up to face Troy. "I wouldn't mess with me Bolton seeing as how _I'm _the one with the gun."

Troy let out a laugh and looked over at his friends. Most of them were looking at him like he was a crazy person. He looked over at Chad again, exchanging glances before looking back at Zane. "Like you'd really even pull the trigger. You're a coward."

"Shut up Bolton!" Zane said getting into Troy's face and held the gun to his temple. "I'll pull this fucking trigger."

Troy didn't let his gaze leaves Zane's eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed eternity, the metal against Troy's temple feeling colder and colder by the second. Troy smirked at Zane. "Bullshit."

"Troy!" Sharpay screamed from behind Zane, causing him to turn around, the gun going off and shooting into the ceiling. Before Zane could say or do anything, a chair swung into his face and he fell hard to the ground. Troy looked up from Zane's body to Chad standing a little behind him.

"Thank god man. I was hoping you'd catch on to that." Troy said shaking Chad's hand and stepping over Zane's body.

"I'm not that dumb." Chad half smiled.

"Alright. Chad, I want you lead everyone else outside. Go out through the windows if you can get it open. There's obviously someone else out there so I don't want you to risk it. Cool?"

Chad nodded and looked down at the floor. "Look, I know you're not going to come with us. Just,uh, please come back out man. We need you."

"I promise, man. We have another Championship to win next year."

Chad looked up and smiled, giving his best friend a hug. "Alright, guys. We're going out the window."

Troy nodded at the group and walked over to the door.

"Wait! Where's Troy going?" Sharpay asked.

"I gotta find Brie."

"I'm going with you!" Taylor said marching over to Troy.

"Taylor no!" Chad said from the window.

"Taylor." Troy put his hands on her shoulder. "You have to go out that window. You have to go get help and tell them what's going on. You know more than any of us."

Troy's heart shattered as he watched Taylor break down in front of him.

"But I can't Troy! I just left her! I have to help you find her! It's my fault! I, just, uh, I have to help!" She managed to get out in between sobs.

"Taylor. It is not your fault. Gabriella would be a lot happier if she knew you were safe. Go with Chad and get us help, please?"

Taylor weakly nodded before Troy gave her one last hug. "I promise I'll bring her back out to you."

She gave him a weak smile before Troy opened the door and peeked out into the hallway. Seeing it was clear, he stepped out.

* * *

**_alright, like i said i broke this chapter up into three parts. so please review and i'll get the next part up asap_**


	15. My Father's Gun Pt Three

**Against All Odds**

_My Father's Gun (Part Three)_

Troy quietly made his way through the hallways, trying to find any sign of Gabriella as he did so. He had already been to the cafeteria and the library only to find both completely deserted.

Turning a corner in the hallway, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and immediately stepped into a niche in the wall. He pulled out the phone and sighed when he saw it was from Chad, but felt relieved when it said they had all made it outside safely.

He put the phone back in his pocket and turned his head at the sound of someone's voice from down the hall. He stepped back out into the hallway and saw a girl turn the corner in front of him, running quickly towards him. He recognized her as a freshman girl who was in his gym class last semester, but was unable to recall her name.

"Troy!" She called out quietly as she approached him. "You have to get out of here."

She grabbed his arm and tried to drag him in the opposite direction.

"Why aren't you coming?" She asked in a crazed, shrill voice. "The shooter is down there. We have to get out."

Troy looked away from her and down the hallway. "Was Gabriella with him?" His eyes returned to the girl's.

The girls eyes started to water and she nodded before turning away from his gaze.

"I can't go with you. But if you head towards the east doors, you should be able to get out safely. I didn't see anyone."

"Troy!" The girl whined again.

"Go. Now." He said with a firm voice, turning the opposite direction. He didn't say anything else to her, and began running. Something about the way the girl reacted when he asked about Gabriella frightened him more.

A few moments later he turned yet another corner in the hallway and came face to face with Tim and almost collided with Gabriella whose back was turned to him. Immediately he took in her appearance. She seemed fine, although blood was dripping down her right arm. He looked around and saw two bodies lying on the floor in between Tim and Gabriella. He looked up and locked eyes with Tim who had his gun aimed directly at Gabriella.

"Ah, well if it isn't Troy Bolton to come and save the day." Tim said with a wicked voice. Troy's gaze hardened and took two steps so that he was now in front of Gabriella.

"Just let her go Tim."

"Or what?" Tim laughed. "What are you gonna do Bolton?"

Troy looked at him before turning his head slightly and catching Gabriella's gaze. She instantly put her hand on his lower back, just needing that connection, hoping it would make everything else go away. Troy looked back at Tim. "Please Tim. She didn't do anything."

"Wrong! She did everything. Like a little slut she led me on, and I actually believed she wanted to be with me. But she didn't. She was getting her kicks from you. Stupid bitch."

Troy flinched after Tim spoke, causing the gunman to break out in laughter.

"I have an idea!" He said enthusiastically to the pair in front of him. "Let's play a game."

Tim circled the couple and scratched his head. "Let's see, let's see. What to do, what to do. You know when I was a little boy I always wanted to be a game show host. My dad told me it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Let's prove daddy wrong."

He pulled out an old folded sheet of paper and read it over. "Troy, question one: What is Gabriella's middle name?"

Troy looked at him and burrowed his eyebrows. "Anne."

"Good. Question two: If Gabriella could go to any place in the world, where would it be?"

"Paris."

"Hmm, right again Troy. Question three: What is Gabriella's favorite song?"

Troy's brain immediately recognized where these questions were from. Tim obviously had the sheet he and Gabriella filled out during the group projects earlier in the semester and was now asking Troy questions from it.

"Lean On Me by Bill Withers. Her dad used to sing it to her when she was little."

Tim clapped his hands together after Troy finished. "Wow, Gabriella he really is perfect isn't he?" He circled them a few more times, twirling the gun around his pointer finger as he read over the sheet some more. "Let's give Gabriella a turn. Troy why don't you turn around and face your pretty little girlfriend."

Slowly, Troy did as Tim said and locked eyes with Gabriella. She looked so scared and he wished there was anything he could to do to just get her out of there. He watched as her eyes widened and felt cold metal connect with his temple.

"Gabriella, question one: Are you in love with Troy Bolton?"

Gabriella's scared expression changed into one of sickness and disgust and Troy knew at that moment he was going to die.

_-flashback-_

_Gabriella turned around and saw that Taylor was no longer in sight._

_"Taylor!"_

_Gabriella frantically ran down the hallway looking for her best friend. "Taylor!"_

_"Gabriella." She heard a voice from behind her and Gabriella stopped in defeat. She turned around and saw Tim standing there with the same crazed look from before. _

_"I missed you Gabriella."_

_"Where is Troy?"_

_"He doesn't matter anymore Gabriella."_

_"WHERE IS HE?" Her outraged voice echoed throughout the hallway._

_Tim opened his mouth to speak but two boys came running down the hallway and stopped when the saw the two standing there._

_"You!" Tim said grabbing the taller one's collar. "What's my name?"_

_The boy looked scared and looked over to Gabriella and then over to his friend for help. "Uh."_

_"Sorry, too long." Tim said holding the gun up and shooting the boy in the stomach. The boy fell to the floor and Gabriella's screams immediately radiated off of the hallway._

_"Tim! What are you doing?" She yelled despereatly. "Stop!"_

_"Shut up Gabriella. Now you," Tim turned to the other boy. "What's your name?"_

_"James." The boy answered, not looking up from his friend's body._

_"Ah, James can you answer another question for me?" The boy slowly nodded his head in response._

_"Who is Gabriella Montez in love with?"_

_The boy looked up at the brunette girl across the hallway. "Troy Bolton?" He said with a weak voice._

_"Ah, sorry but I believe that's the wrong answer."_

_Gabriella's sobs came harder as the second boy fell to the floor._

_

* * *

_Chad looked down at his phone for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes praying that his friend would send some kind of reply. He needed to know that his best friend since kindergarten was safe inside.

"They're okay Chad." Taylor said squeezing his hand. "I promise you, they're okay."

Chad nodded his head and looked behind her at the masses of reporters and parents and people standing behind the line of police and S.W.A.T. in the parking lot. Someone had explained to them earlier that the police couldn't enter yet because the gunmen could have hostages. Or something like that.

"Chad! Chad Danforth!" He looked over and saw Bill, a sports columnist for the local newspaper. "Chad, were you inside? Do you know who the gunman is? Is Troy alive?"

Chad clenched his fists and began to walk towards the reporter before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a ragged Jack Bolton. "He's not worth it, son. Let's just focus on Troy and getting him out."

Chad nodded and walked back to where his friend were standing, taking out his cell phone again to see if any response had come through.

* * *

"I, Uh, I." Gabriella stammered, not being able to look Troy in the eyes.

"God Damnit Gabriella, answer the question!" Tim screamed. He pushed the gun tighter into Troy's temple, causing him to wince in pain.

"I, uh. No, I don't love..." Gabriella's answer was interrupted by loud footsteps. Tim looked up and saw Zane rounding the corner.

"Damn it Bolton. You'll pay for that little stunt you pulled." Zane said holding up the gun and aiming at the basketball player and fired. Troy closed his eyes, expecting immediate and major pain. He opened his eyes at the small grunt from the girl in front of him. Her hand was on her stomach, and blood was pooling out onto her white shirt.

"Oh, god Brie." Troy said as she fell into his arms and the two fell into a crumpled mess on the floor.

"I love you Troy." Gabriella said weakly as tears filled her eyes.

"Shh, baby. I know, I know. Shh. Troy said as he held her close to him, the tears falling from his own eyes.

"No!" Tim screamed and pulled up his gun. "What the hell did you do Zane? What the hell did you just do?"

Zane looked at the huddled pair of Troy and Gabriella then back up at Tim who looked wild. He didn't even have time to respond as Tim fired the gun he was holding and shot Zane square in the chest.

Zane fell hard to the floor and Tim quickly turned around.

"I love you Troy." Gabriella said again, this time quieter and more strained than before. Her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.

"Brie!" Troy screamed. "Brie wake up!" Troy sobbed and looked up and met the wild eyes of the man who had caused all of this.

"Why?" He asked, a sob erupting from his throat as he did so.

Tim looked at the tear stained face of the school's golden boy and then down as his girlfriend unconscious in his arms. What had he done?

He slowly pulled the gun to his own temple. He could see Troy's eyes widen and his mouth open to scream, but everything seemed to blank out as he pulled the trigger.

Troy watched as yet another body fell to the floor.

"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." Troy pulled out his phone from his pocket, one arm still secure around Gabriella and dialed a familiar number,

"Thank God man." He heard the voice of his best friend on the other line.

"Chad." Troy sobbed out. "Get the damned police in here. Both gunman are down and Brie's been shot. I don't know what to do Chad."

Chad was silent on the other end of the line as he listened to his friends sobs. "Troy, I'll go get them right now. Tell her to hold on, okay?"

"Chad, I don't know if she's okay. I don't know. Oh God Chad. What happened?"

"Troy." Chad said firmly. "Be strong for her okay. Be strong."

"Okay." Troy said and ended the call. He pulled Gabriella's limp body closer to him, and prayed to God to let her be okay.


	16. The One You Knew

**Against All Odds**

_The One You Knew_

Troy stared at the blank white walls of the hospital in front of him as time inched by. It had been seven hours since Gabriella had been rushed out of the school and into an ambulance. Seven hours since his entire world came crashing down.

His gaze shifted downwards to the hand of his girlfriend's mother. Her hand was holding on to his for dear life, while her other hand supported her head as she cried softly to herself. He knew that her world was crashing down just at much as his was.

His dad sat directly to the left of him, watching him like a hawk. He had tried to get Troy numerous times to talk, or at least get checked out by a doctor, but everyone knew Troy wasn't leaving that spot until he knew the exact details on Gabriella. So Jack stayed to watch over his son, and waited with everyone else to hear the news on the girl who become like a second child to him and his wife.

Chad and Taylor sat across from them with tear stained faces. Their hands were clasped together tightly, each afraid to let go of each other but well aware that their friend needed them more than they needed each other.

The rest of the gang- Jason, Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay and Zeke sat in scattered places around the room. No one said anything. No one moved.

"You guys remember that day in rehearsals?" Sharpay's small voice interrupted the silence. "Troy was supposed to open up the door and reveal Gabriella standing behind it, but when he opened it she was standing there in a gorilla costume?"

Everyone looked up at her, shocked that she had even spoken. Sharpay looked around at everyone. She had expected this. But instead of everyone worrying for however long, she wanted them to remember who Gabriella was. She was by the far the strongest out of the group, the glue, the girl that changed all of East High for the better. And they shouldn't forget that. She WOULD get through this. "Seriously, I remember Darbus was so mad, and she made them continue the scene with Gabriella as a gorrila. Next thing you know, Troy is singing and dancing to 'What I've Been Looking For' with a hairy ape." She smiled and lookedf around. Her friends smiled, and a few small laughs escaped at the memory.

"Or when that time we were at the pizza shop," Chad continued, "and Jason and Kelsi had gotten in a fight? She wiped cherry dessert pizza all over her face to get Kels to cheer up."

Kelsi smiled and nodded and looked over at Jason, who also smiled. Sharpay and Zeke both laughed quietly at the memory. Isabella's eyes watered listening to the experiences her daughter and friends had shared over the past six months. She knew she had moved her daughter around a lot, but at that moment was glad that she had had such good friends in this place.

Troy couldn't look in his friends' gazes at they continued to share memories of the girl that meant everything to him. She had brought them together, and given them all a chance to live a life none of them could even imagine. She brought East High together, and they couldn't lose her now. He couldn't lose her now.

The minutes dragged on when a doctor finally entered the lobby they currently inhabited.

"May I speak to the family of Gabriella Montez?"

Isabella looked at Troy and then stood up to walk over. She stopped and looked back down at the boy who had been sitting next to her. The boy whose laughter had filled her house and brought joy to her daughter for the last few months. The boy who she would from this moment on call a son.

"Are you coming?" She asked, almost as if she needed him to go with her.

"Am I allowed? I'm not family."

"We both know that's not true. Please, I don't think I can do this alone." Isabella whispered.

Troy nodded and stood with her, and the both of them walked over to where the doctor stood.

"Ms. Montez, I'm Doctor Moyer. Your daughter just got out of surgery and is in intensive care."

Isabella looked at the him with hopeful eyes. "So she's gonna be okay?"

"Well," the doctor nervously shifted his weight and Troy instantly knew something was wrong. "She's lost a lot of blood. And while the bullet didn't hit any vital organs, her spleen was hit and ruptured and that was our main focus during surgery. It's kind of a wait and see thing. But I have a feeling she's a strong girl."

_'More than you even know.'_ Isabella thought to herself. "Can we go and at least see her?"

"You can, but try and keep it to two at a time. I know she's unconscious, but we're hoping she still very aware of her surroundings, even in that state. I don't want her to get worked up. But I also support her family and friends going and visiting her. I've observed that in previous situations, those who have support and strength from their family have better chances of recovery."

Isabella nodded, still very worried for her daughter.

"If you follow me, I'll take you to her room." Moyer said giving them a half smile. He had never been good at this. While he loved being a doctor and saving people every single day, he would never get over that sad, hopeless face he had seen one too many times in his office.

He turned and led them both down a hallway and around a few turns before stopping in front of room number 812.

"Why don't you go in first Bella." Troy said nervously. Suddenly, he was terrified of seeing Gabriella. He was afraid of stepping in and seeing her helplessly attached to tubes and wires. He was afraid of seeing her lying there and having her never wake up. To never get to see that sparkle in her eyes, or hear the music of her laughter.

Isabella nodded, and stepped inside. Troy sighed as he leaned against the wall and slid down it so that he was sitting on the floor with his legs sprawled out across the hallway. The hospital was eerily quiet for some reason. He had never really planned on being in a situation like this one, he just figured there would be a lot more hustle and bustle after such a tragedy. Then again, Gabriella was in a recovery unit, and not the emergency room.

As the seconds passed Troy let out a silent prayer to anyone in the heavens listening to do whatever they could to save his Gabriella. He wasn't sure he'd be able to go on without her.

He heard the door creak open and Isabella stepped out. He quickly pushed himself up off of the floor and looked at her face that was now adorned with fresh tears. His stomach twisted even more before stepping into the room.

He looked at the girl lying in the bed, and swore she looked like an angel. Even with all the tubes and wires, she was more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen. Her hair was all over the pillows behind it, and if he hadn't known any better, she looked like she was just sleeping peacefully.

Pulling a chair close to her bedside, he sat down and took her small hand in his.

"Brie, I need you to be strong. We all need you to be so strong." He stopped as fresh tears pulled at his throat.

He looked at her and searched for the words he wanted to say, for the words to give her the strength to make it through this. His mind flashed to a memory when Gabriella had told him that her father used to sing to her when she was sad or in times of trouble. Finally finding the words he felt might help, he slowly began to sing.

_There's only one way I know how to do this _

_Stay here and help me live through this _

_and I'll always be _

_The one you knew from your love _

_I grew into complete and whole _

_and the way I justify _

_It's my way to control love everlasting _

As the tears rolled down his face he held her hand tight, bending over and kissing her forehead. "I need you Brie. More than you'll ever know. Please, just don't leave me. I love you Gabriella Montez."

He stood and took one last look at her before walking out of the room. The doctor had told him and Isabella both not too tire her out, and he himself wasn't sure he wouldn't be able to refrain from breaking down in front of her.

He stepped out of the room and saw Isabella standing there waiting on him. He took one look at her stricken face and fell into her arms and erupted into sobs.

* * *

Several hours later, the gang, minus Troy, still sat in the lobby that had claimed as their own waiting for news on Gabriella. After Troy had calmed down, he and Isabella made their way back to the lobby, allowing everyone else to take short trips back to see Gabriella.

Troy however, was angry at himself for not being stronger earlier, and had permanently situated himself in Gabriella's room. He watched as nurses and doctors came in and checked on Gabriella and would search their faces each and every time for any sign of what was going on. It had been eleven hours since Gabriella had been shot, but to Troy it had seemed like years. Every second that passed by was almost a lifetime.

A loud noise filled the room, and he instantly panicked as nurses and doctors rushed into the room and pushed him out of the way. He glanced at her heart monitor just before he was pushed out of the door.

It was flat-lining.

* * *

_yes, i know. uber short and uber sad. but... still, review??_


	17. If You're Gone

_Okay, so I received a few comments that the last chapter I had posted was abrupt and lackluster. So, I reread it, agreed and decided to rewrite the ending. There should definitely be a few more chapters after this. I'm guessing one or two. So let me know what you think!_

* * *

**Against All Odds  
**_If You're Gone_

Troy felt lost after he had been rushed out of Gabriella's room. He stood there, facing the door to her room for the next ten minutes, unsure of what to do. Only twenty feet away from him, Gabriella was dying. He saw it. The look in the doctors' and nurses faces. The line running straight across her heart monitor and the loud screeching noise that accompanied it. And he didn't know what to do. He thought back to all the times he had promised her he would save her. From that day at the after party, he had promised himself that no harm or pain would come to Gabriella Montez. And he had failed.

His body had, unbeknownst to him, begun to shake. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a nurse standing behind him.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Troy stared at her.

"Sir, you're shaking and you look really pale. Are you feeling okay?"

Troy continued to stare at her, before breaking out in a run down the hallway. He could hear the nurse calling after him, but his legs didn't stop, taking him to a place he wasn't even sure of yet.

Minutes later, when he had finally stopped running, he realized he was standing in the chapel inside of the hospital. He fell to his knees and stared up at the large cross on the wall.

"You can't have her." He said, the tears falling from his eyes. "Please, just don't take her yet. She does so much good down here, and she's so special to all of us. Please, just don't take her from us yet."

He allowed the rest of his body to fall into a heap on the floor, and only every so often would look up that cross and plead some more.

* * *

Isabella was lost in a world of her own. Hours before she had found herself hanging on to the hand of her daughter's boyfriend, using any strength he had as her own. It almost felt like the closer she could get to Troy, the closer she could get to her precious Gabi. She knew that this was hard on him as well. Hell, this was hard on every single person in this room, but nothing matched that look of defeat and despair in Troy's eyes. The once rich cerulean blue eyes were now a dark and dismal gray.

But then Troy had left, and here Isabella was alone silently praying to whomever would listen to her.

"Isabella Montez?" she heard a voice call out and looked up to see Dr. Moyer standing in the waiting room. She quickly pushed herself up off the chair and met him at the far side of the room.

"Is everything okay?" She asked in a shaken voice.

The doctor's eyes told her everything. "We almost lost her there for a moment."

"What?" It was the only thing Isabella could manage to say.

"Her heart gave out, and we did an emergency surgery and saw there was some internal bleeding as well. But after the surgery and resuscitation Gabriella's body began to react to some of the tests we ran on her. It looks like she's going to be okay."

This time, Isabella couldn't find any words to say and threw her arms around the doctor. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

She pulled away, and turned around looking for Troy and then remembered he had been in the room with Gabriella. "Where-where's Troy?" She asked turning back to Dr. Moyer. "He was in the room with Gabriella."

"He had to leave the room once the monitor signaled. He didn't come back here?"

* * *

Chad had been sitting close enough to Isabella to hear that Gabriella was going to be okay. His heart swelled at the fact that one of his best friends was going to make it, but then it darkened at the words _"Where's Troy?"_

He was currently walking down a corridor, knowing exactly where Troy had disappeared to. It was only several years ago that it was he who was in this dark place and Troy was the one lifting him up off his feet.

As he rounded the corner into the chapel, his thoughts were confirmed by the sight of his best friend in a huddled mess up in front of the first set of pews.

"How'd you know I was here?" He heard Troy ask in a voice that he had never heard Troy use before. It was ragged and small, almost childlike, and weak, Chad could hear the fear and hopelessness, and he knew that Troy was giving up.

"I spent every day in this place when my mom was sick. I pretty much thought it was over. I had given up hope even before she did. You remember that?"

Chad waited a few moments for Troy to respond, and after hearing nothing, he continued. "But it was you who found me here. It was you who convinced me that she needed me to get through it. And guess what Troy? You were right. So you need to get up off this floor and go back to Gabriella."

For the first time, Troy looked up and his eyes met with Chad's. "I can't Chad. I was trying to be strong. But then, the sound and all the doctors. Chad, what if she doesn't make it?"

Chad watched as fresh tears gathered in Troy's bloodshot eyes. "Troy, the doctors just told Ms. Montez there was a really good chance she'll pull through this. And when she does, do you think Gabriella wants to see you here? A huddled mess on the floor? Hell no. She's going to need you to be strong. She's going to need you to be there for her. Not because she'll be in pain, but for a lot more reasons. Because of what Tim did to her. He took something from her, and she'll need your help to get it back. She's going to need that person who gave her the strength to sing, who stood behind her when no one else would." Chad's voice was strong and powerful. He knew that he not only needed to help Gabriella, but he needed to help Troy as well. "You hear me?"

Troy looked back at the cross behind him before turning and facing Chad, slowly nodding his head. "Yeah. I hear you."

"Then why are we still here?"

With a new found confidence, Troy stood up off the ground. "I don't know."

And with that, the two boys set off down the hall.

* * *

Once Troy had reappeared in the lobby with his friends and family, he was filled in on all the details the doctor had told Ms. Montez earlier. It seemed that Gabriella was reacting well to the medicines, and they all really believed she would pull through it. It was just a matter of her waking up, and it was something that would come when her body and mind were ready for it.

So they sat in the lobby and waited for news. Any news. It was almost five in the morning, and the toll of yesterday's were beginning to show on all the faces in the room. None of them had slept, and hardly moved from their seats they currently obtained.

Isabella's eyes, much like every other person's in the room, had barely left the TV screen in front of her. The news had been playing all night, showing different accounts of yesterday's events - everything from pictures to videos that different people had obtained. She wasn't sure why none of them had changed the channel. It was almost as if they needed the TV to tell them what had happened was really real. That her daughter really was fighting for her life just a few yards down the hall. And so she remained transfixed to the TV in front of her.

"I think you should all go home and get some rest." She said with a kind voice, her eyes still watching the television. "Gabriella wouldn't want any of you putting yourself through this."

For several moments, no one responded.

"I know that I only speak for myself when I say this Ms. Montez," Taylor said softly. "But there's no way I'm leaving until I know she's okay. If I go home, the only thing different I'll be doing is calling the hospital every ten seconds to see if there's any change. So it's probably easier if I just stay here."

Isabella smiled at the young girl. She looked around at all the other teenagers who nodded their heads in agreement. It seemed that the entire group would be staying.

"Ms. Montez?" Everyone's heads shot over to wear the doctor was currently standing. Isabella stood up.

"Gabriella's awake."


End file.
